Sri Lanka: Two men die waiting in queue for fuel as economic crisis worsens
India Today
Two men died in Sri Lanka while waiting in queues for fuel as the country's economic crisis worsened.
Sri Lankan police said on Sunday two men collapsed and died while waiting in separate queues to secure fuel amid sky-rocketing prices leading to record inflation.
The men, in their seventies, died while they were waiting for petrol and kerosene oil in two different parts of the country, said police spokesman Nalin Thalduwa in commercial capital Colombo.
For weeks, people have been queuing up at pumps, often for hours, and the country has been under rolling power cuts.
"One was a 70-year-old three-wheeler driver who was a diabetic and heart patient, while the second was a 72-year-old. Both had been waiting in line for about four hours for fuel oil," Thalduwa said.
On Sunday, Sri Lanka suspended operations at its only fuel refinery after crude oil stocks ran out, said Ashoka Ranwala, the president of the Petroleum General Employees' Union.
The energy ministry could not be immediately reached for a comment.
Use of kerosene oil has increased after low-income families began shifting away from cooking gas due to price increases. On Sunday, Laugfs Gas, the country's second largest supplier, raised prices by 1,359 rupees ($4.94) for a 12.5 kg cylinder, the company said in a statement.
