Family of two women stranded in Sri Lanka hugely relieved' after rescue

"Melanie's daughter, Katie Beeching, has now confirmed the women were saved by the Sri Lankan tourist police yesterday afternoon. They are currently in Colombo resting up before their flight home. Katie said: We are hugely relieved that Mum and Janine are now on their way home and would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the brave officers from the Sri Lankan tourist police who went out of their way to rescue them in such difficult circumstances."

"The pair had been travelling through the mountains in Pussellawa, when the road in front of them flooded, forcing another bus over a nearby cliff. After a night spent in the car, the two women found shelter at a tea plantation but had been running out of food, water and fuel whilst the roads in and out of Pussellawa remained impassable."

Two women from London were rescued by Sri Lankan tourist police after being stranded by landslides in the Pussellawa mountains. A flooded road forced a bus over a nearby cliff and left the pair trapped; they spent a night in their car before finding shelter at a tea plantation. The women ran low on food, water and fuel while roads in and out of Pussellawa remained impassable. They are currently in Colombo resting before their flight home. Numerous panicked calls to the UK Foreign Office reportedly received a response that no evacuation plan existed. The death toll from Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka stands at 465.

Read at www.standard.co.uk