S Lanka closes airport, cuts power after plane seen

COLOMBO, Apr 26 (Reuters) Sri Lankan authorities closed Colombo's international airport and cut power to the capital tonight after suspicious airplanes were seen flying south along the coast, a military source said.

Witnesses in the area said they saw parachute flares fired into the sky and heard what sounded like anti-aircraft guns.

Early on Tuesday, Tamil Tiger rebel airplanes dropped bombs on military positions in the north of the country in their second aerial attack ever. The first was an attack on an air base attached to Colombo airport less than a month ago.

Sources confirmed today air defences were firing into the air to ward off any potential attack.

''Some civilians in Puttalam district had seen three aircraft flying from north to south hugging the sea. With suspicion, contingency plans have been activated because of the imminent risk of threat, closing off the entrance of the airport and switching power off,'' a senior military source said on condition of anonymity.

An airport official confirmed that there was an emergency, but declined to elaborate.

''There is an emergency situation that has arisen here and I can't give you further details,'' the airport duty manager said.

Earlier, the air force said it bombed a gathering of Tamil Tiger leaders in the rebel-held north, but the rebels denied any leaders were present.

Over the past 16 months, Sri Lanka has slipped deeper into a civil war that has claimed some 68,000 lives since 1983 -- including more than 4,000 since late 2005. The intensified violence has left a 2002 ceasefire in tatters.

The Tamil Tigers are fighting for independence in the north and east of the island.

REUTERS RJ BST0028