Sri Lankan police said on Sunday that two people collapsed and died while waiting in separate queues for safety of fuel amid skyrocketing prices, leading to record inflation.
Police spokesman Nalin Thalduwa in the commercial capital Colombo said men in their seventies died waiting for petrol and kerosene in two different parts of the country.
For weeks, people have been queuing at pumps, often for hours, and there are power cuts across the country.
“One was a 70-year-old three-wheeler driver who was diabetic and a heart patient, while the other was a 72-year-old. Both were waiting in line for nearly four hours for fuel oil,” Thaladuva said.
On Sunday, Sri Lanka had shut down operations at its only fuel refinery after it ran out of crude oil stocks, said Ashok Ranawala, president of the Petroleum General Employees Union.
The power ministry could not immediately be reached for a comment.
The use of kerosene has increased after low-income households moved away from LPG due to rise in prices. On Sunday, Lagfs Gas, the country’s second largest supplier, increased prices by Rs 1,359 ($4.94) for a 12.5-kg cylinder, the company said in a statement.
Sri Lanka has been struggling to find dollars to pay for increasingly expensive fuel shipments since January, with its forex reserves plunging to $2.31 billion in February.
In February, Sri Lanka’s inflation hit 15.1 per cent, the highest in Asia, with food inflation rising to 25.7 per cent, the latest government data showed.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s central bank issued the rupee, causing the currency to fall more than 30 per cent to trade at around Rs 275 per US dollar.
Milk powder prices were increased by Rs 250 ($0.90) for a 400-gram pack on Saturday, prompting restaurant owners to increase the price of a cup of milk tea by up to Rs 100.
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