Sri Lanka runs out of fuel as economic crisis worsens

Sri Lanka’s PM says the country is down to its last day of fuel as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister says the island-nation has run out of petrol.

It’s believed the cash-strapped country desperately needs to secure 75 million dollars in foreign exchange to pay for essential imports.

The PM says the government was unable to raise dollars to pay for three shipments of oil.

There are ships currently waiting outside the capital of Colombo for payment before discharging their cargo.

It comes a week after Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced out of office after weeks of deadly protests over the government’s handling of the economic crisis.