Fifty killed as mortar hits Sri Lanka hospital

Fifty people were killed and another 50 wounded when a mortar shell struck the only functioning hospital in Sri Lanka's northern war zone today, a government health official said.

The attack came after a weekend of heavy shelling that killed hundreds of civilians trapped in the war zone. The military has denied accusations that it is still shelling the tiny coastal strip under rebel control, which is packed with an estimated 50,000 civilians.

Dr Thurairaja Varatharajah, the senior government health official in the war zone, said a single shell hit the admissions ward in the makeshift hospital this morning. The death toll was expected to rise.

Shells were still landing in the area hours later, including one that landed about 150 yards from the hospital, Mr Varatharajah said. A hospital administrator was among the dead.

Reports of the fighting are difficult to verify because journalists and aid workers are barred from the area.