7 missing trekkers rescued in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan police said on Monday they had rescued the seven people reportedly missing inside the Knuckles Mountain Range in the Central Highlands of the island nation after they went trekking on April 6.

A large-scale search operation was launched in the morning to locate the trekkers after one of them contacted his relatives on Sunday evening and informed them that the group had lost their way inside the Knuckles forest, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police said they had found the group unharmed. The trekkers, aged between 22 and 24, are residents of Homagama, located in the outskirts of Colombo. They had entered the Knuckles range last week.

The Knuckles mountain range, a world heritage conservation area, is one of Sri Lanka's major nature attractions. The reserve attracts large numbers of local and foreign tourists who visit the area to witness its natural waterfalls and for trekking.

The Knuckles range consists of rugged mountain peaks interspersed with streams and cascading waterfalls and covers an area of 18,512 hectares.

--IANS

soni/mr