Landslides kill 8, displace over 2,000 in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Jan 12 (Reuters) Eight people were killed and more than 2,000 displaced by landslides in Sri Lanka's central tea-growing hills due to heavy rains today, police said.

Sri Lanka's central hills are prone to landslides due to heavy monsoon rains, particularly in the district of Nuwara Eliya renowned for its lush plantations, where today's incident occurred.

''There is a helicopter to evacuate about 2,000 people from the area, but it is still finding a place to land,'' a police spokesman in Colombo told Reuters.

Sri Lanka's National Disaster Management Centre said it would likely relocate the displaced families in schools.

REUTERS SP BS1656