A Fire At A Nursing Home In Sri Lanka Kills 12 People
The blaze erupted at the Mawpiya Sevana Elderly Care Home in Anguruwatota, about 65 km southeast of Colombo, in the Kalutara district.
Published : June 4, 2026 at 1:26 PM IST
|Updated : June 4, 2026 at 5:12 PM IST
Colombo: A fire at an unregistered nursing home in western Sri Lanka killed 12 residents and injured eight others, police said Thursday. The fire started late Wednesday at the home in Anguruwatota town. Fifty-one residents were rescued, police spokesman Fredrick Wootler said. He said people with mental illnesses were also housed there.
The director of the home was arrested on suspicion of causing deaths through negligence. An investigation is underway. Associated Press footage showed the building gutted with its charred furniture and equipment. Bodies lay nearby.
Local television channel Hiru showed image of firefighters, police and residents trying to contain the raging fire. Those rescued were assisted by police and soldiers in boarding buses to a safe location.
Chathura Mihudum, director of the National Secretariat for Elders, said the facility was not registered as a nursing home and had been warned to follow laws and guidelines.
He said it was overcrowded with beds for just about 15 people in a space where 71 people were living. Government officials had previously visited the institution and had instructed the management to follow laws, he said, without elaborating.
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