In Sri Lanka, as economic crisis worsens, two men die waiting in queue for fuel

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.

Sri Lanka has been struggling to find dollars to pay for increasingly expensive fuel shipments since January, with its foreign currency reserves dipping to $2.31 billion in February.

In February Sri Lanka's inflation hit 15.1%, among the highest in Asia, with food inflation soaring to 25.7%, latest government data showed.

Earlier this month Sri Lanka's central bank floated the rupee causing the currency to plummet by more than 30% to trade at about 275 rupees per U.S. dollar.

Milk powder prices increased by 250 rupees ($0.90) for a 400g pack on Saturday, prompting restaurant owners to raise the cost of a cup of milk tea to 100 rupees.

($1 = 275.0000 Sri Lankan rupees)