Attack in Lankan hospital kills 49

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Sri Lankan ethnic Tamils are seen with the dead bodies of their relatives at a makeshift hospital in Tamil Tiger-controlled no fire zone in Mullivaaykaal, Monday. —AP

COLOMBO, May 12 (AP): A mortar shell struck the only functioning medical facility in Sri Lanka's northern war zone Tuesday morning, killing 49 patients and bystanders and wounding more than 50 others, a government health official said. It was the second time this month that the facility was hit.
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 was still shelling the tiny coastal strip under rebel control, which is packed with an estimated 50,000 civilians.
Dr Thurairaja Varatharajah, the top government health official in the war zone, said a single mortar shell hit the admissions ward in the makeshift hospital Tuesday morning. In addition to the 49 killed, scores of others were wounded, and he expected the death toll to rise, he said.
Shells were still hitting the area hours later, including one that landed about 150 yards (metres) from the hospital, Varatharajah said.
A second hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said a hospital administrator was among those killed.