A LANDSLIDE in Sri Lanka is believed to have killed more than 100 people after it buried scores of houses.

The landslide hit a village in a tea-growing area after days of heavy monsoon rain.

The death toll is likely to rise as more than 300 people are listed as missing.

Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amara­weera, who was at the scene in the village of Haldummulla, 120 miles inland from the capital Colombo, said: "More than 100 people are believed to have died.

"We have suspended the rescue operations because of darkness and inclement weather. There is also a threat of further landslides."

Children who left for school in the morning returned to find their clay and cement houses had been buried. Nearly 300 children were gathered at a nearby school as night fell.

The Disaster Management Centre said 10 bodies had been found so far, at least 300 people were missing and 150 houses were buried.

The landslide was at least two miles long. Villagers had been advised in 2005 and 2012 to move away because of the threat of landslides but many did not heed the warning.

Some roads in the central districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Badulla were blocked due to land- slides, limiting public transport.

But President Mahinda Rajapaksa said military heavy machinery had been deployed to speed up search-and-rescue operations.