At least 19 people, including five children, have died after a huge rubbish dump collapsed on to their homes in Sri Lanka, the army says. <br />The 300ft-high (91m) pile of rotting debris had shifted after floods and a fire then collapsed on Friday. <br />At least 40 homes on the edge of the dump were destroyed. The army said an unknown number of people were missing. <br />There had been concerns over the safety of the site in Colombo, with residents demanding it be cleared. <br />The AFP news agency said about 800 tonnes of waste were added to the Meethotamulla dump every day, and that the government had planned to remove it. <br />"We heard a massive sound. It was like thunder," one resident, Kularathna, told the Reuters news agency. "Tiles in our house got cracked. Black water started coming in." <br />The collapse occurred as many people were marking Aluth Avurudda, or the Sinhalese New Year, a major public holiday across Sri Lanka.
