Disaster officials in Sri Lanka are saying that at least 100 people have been buried alive under a mudslide that was brought on by recent monsoon weathers. According to the AFP, at least 16 are confirmed dead.

A witness reported that the mudslide sounded "like thunder" as a part of a mountain collapsed onto a tea estate in the Koslanda region of Sri Lanka, which ended in many homes being buried in 30 feet of mud. Soldiers had initially begun digging for bodies with their bare hands but then moved on to using excavators.

Hundreds of others in the area were displaced. Via the AFP:

The region's top military official, Major General Mano Perera, said 302 people, including 75 schoolchildren, whose homes were destroyed in the mudslide were being looked after at two schools in the same area.

The mudslide hit at a time when most people were at work and children were already in school, leaving the elderly and the very young at home.

Disaster Management Center spokesman Sarath Kumara spoke with AFP, explaining that at least 130 houses were washed away in the mudslide. The slide began early Wednesday morning and only lasted ten minutes, but disaster officials fear that anyone who is currently trapped under the mud will not be able to be saved.

[Image via AP]