Serpentine queue lines at fuel stations claim lives of two 70-yr-olds in SL

Two 70-year-old men have died waiting in serpentine queues outside petrol filling stations in Sri Lanka, officials here said on Sunday.

Sri Lankan is reeling from a severe shortage of fuel as it deals with a historic foreign reserve crisis.

Colombo police said the two septuagenarians died at central district Kandy and Colombo Suburb on Saturday. Both the deceased had spent over six hours in the waiting lines.

Acute exhaustion caused by torrid heat is believed to be the preliminary cause of the deaths.

Officials said the government is banking on Indian fuel to ease the current crunch.

Chairman of State-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Sumith Wijesinghe said, "From the Indian credit line, we get all the finished products, such as petrol, diesel and Jet fuel."

"We have received jet fuel on 13th and 14th (of this month). We have received another diesel ship which will start unloading tomorrow," he said, pointing out that the public seemed to stockpile fuel in view of the ...