The Sri Lankan military said Saturday that the search operation is still going on in a wild life park in the northwest region after eight people, including four Army personnel were reported missing on Friday.

Officials from the Media Center for National Security said Colonel Jayantha Suraweera, a district commander in Anuradhapura and three of his men, as well as four employees of the Wilpattu National Park have gone missing since mid-afternoon Friday at the park, some 200 km north of the capital Colombo.

The authorities suspected the hand of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in the disappearance of the party.

A local newspaper reported that the vehicle in which they were traveling had been fired on by LTTE rebels inside the park, killing all on board.

"When it was reported that the commander had not returned to base, a group of soldiers went in search and spotted eight dead bodies in the park," The Island quoted military sources as saying.

Early last year, a jeep was blown into pieces, killing at least four local tourists holidaying in the same park.

Source: Xinhua