Two British women trapped by landslides in Sri Lanka’s central highlands say they are running out of food, water and fuel, with their families accusing the UK government of offering little meaningful assistance as the impact of Cyclone Ditwah continues to devastate the island.
Melanie Watters, 54, and her friend Janine Reid, 55, both from London, were travelling through the tea estates of Kandy last Thursday when their driver encountered a road that had been swallowed by a landslide. A bus nearby was swept over a cliff. Their own car was left stuck in a ditch and at risk of being washed away, forcing the women and their driver to remain in the vehicle overnight as conditions worsened.
The pair later managed to take shelter at a nearby tea plantation, but the roads in and out of Pussellawa remain completely cut off. With supplies dwindling and more rain expected, their situation has become increasingly precarious.
Watters’ daughter, Katie Beeching, who is nine months pregnant, said she had contacted the UK Foreign Office repeatedly, only to be told that the government had no plan to evacuate the women.
Beeching said officials told her that assisting them “isn't our responsibility”.
“There are literally two British nationals on their own, no food, water, fuel, no way in or out,” she said, warning that the situation could soon turn fatal. “You know, there has to be a plan.”
Melanie and Janine departed the UK on 21 November for a two-week trip and were due to return this week. They had originally planned to travel by train but were advised to drive instead, placing them directly in the path of some of the worst landslide-affected areas.
Beeching said they had been in intermittent contact since the cyclone struck, relaying scenes of widespread devastation in the mountains, where mudslides have buried homes and entire villages. “On Thursday midday we basically got messages which said: ‘This is really scary, there’s landslides everywhere, we’ve seen a bus go over the side of the cliff.’”
Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency, with Anura Kumara Dissanayake describing Cyclone Ditwah as “the largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history”. Aty least 479 people have been killed, with hundreds still missing.
Despite this, the UK government has faced criticism from families of those stranded. Beeching said she had been unable to speak to the British High Commissioner in Colombo Andrew Patrick, while Sri Lankan authorities told her that military teams had not yet reached the area where the women are stuck.
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting two British nationals in Sri Lanka and are in contact with the local authorities. We continue to provide consular support to a number of British nationals affected by Cyclone Ditwah. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works tirelessly to support British nationals in distress overseas.”
The statement has done little to reassure Beeching, who said Sri Lankan military helicopters can be heard overhead “but they’re apparently retrieving bodies”.