Two British women from London are facing a desperate situation, stranded and running out of supplies in Sri Lanka's mountainous tea region after catastrophic landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
A Terrifying Ordeal in the Mountains
Melanie Watters, 54, and Janine Reid, 55, were on a two-week holiday when their journey turned into a nightmare. On Thursday, while being driven from Kandy, the road ahead was suddenly engulfed. The friends witnessed a bus being swept over a cliff edge before their own vehicle became stuck in a ditch, at severe risk of being washed away.
Forced to shelter in the car overnight as conditions deteriorated, they have since found temporary cover at a local tea plantation in the area of Pussellawa. However, their daughter, Katie Beeching, reports they are now critically low on food, water, and fuel, with all access roads rendered impassable by the disaster.
Frustration with UK Government Response
Beeching, who is nine months pregnant and has previously worked with the National Crime Agency, has made repeated frantic calls to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). She expresses profound dismay at the perceived lack of action from British officials.
"I said, 'This is your job.' And he said, 'It isn't our responsibility,'" Beeching claimed of her conversations. She emphasised the grave danger: "There are literally two British nationals on their own, no food, water, fuel, no way in or out... This could be lives lost if you don't take some sort of action."
Despite her appeals, she says she was told the UK government currently has no plan to facilitate an evacuation. Beeching also stated she has been unable to speak directly with the UK's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick.
Scale of the Disaster and International Contrast
The plight of the two women unfolds against a backdrop of immense national tragedy. Sri Lanka's President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has described the fallout from Cyclone Ditwah as the 'largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history'. The official death toll across the country has now reached a staggering 465.
In a stark contrast to the UK's described inaction, Indian authorities successfully evacuated the last of over 330 of its stranded nationals from Sri Lanka on Monday. The operation involved Chetak helicopters from the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and Indian Air Force assets, which also assisted Sri Lankan search operations in inaccessible areas.
Beeching revealed that her mother and friend, who were due to return to the UK this Wednesday, can hear helicopters overhead, but believes they are primarily engaged in retrieving bodies. The women have only been able to maintain intermittent communication since the cyclone struck.
The FCDO has been contacted for comment regarding the situation and the criticisms levelled at its response.
