The number of people who died after a 300-feet mound of garbage collapsed in the Meetotamulla area of Kolonnawa near Sri Lanka’s Colombo rose to 28 on Monday after emergency workers pulled out more bodies from underneath the rubbish, Colombo Gazette said. At least 30 others are still missing, it added.

At least 625 people, belonging to 180 families, have been displaced by the tragedy, the Disaster Management Centre of the country told local media, according to PTI. The military said that 1,000 security personnel, including police and members of several special task forces, had been deployed for the rescue operation. It added that troops from the Sri Lanka Light Infantry, Commandos, Gemunu Watch and Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment were carrying out relief operations, Colombo Gazette reported. Officials said hundreds of people had been moved to temporary shelters and the government would soon begin shifting more people. Schools and others establishments would be moved as well, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harsha De Silva said.

Military spokesperson Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne had earlier said that troops were still looking for survivors, but feared that chances of finding anyone alive were slim. “The main obstacle is that we don’t have a clear idea of how many people are buried as nobody is claiming that their relatives are missing, unlike on previous occasions,” Sudantha Ranasinghe, a military official heading the operation, had said.