Twelve residents died and eight others were injured after a fire tore through an unregistered nursing home late Wednesday in Anguruwatota in western Sri Lanka, police said on Thursday.
Officers said 51 people were pulled from the building alive. The director of the home was arrested on suspicion of causing deaths through negligence as an investigation into the blaze opened.
The facility housed elderly and vulnerable people, including residents with mental illnesses, authorities said. Video footage after the fire showed a charred interior and burned furniture, evidence of a fast-moving blaze that gutted much of the structure.
Government officials and the National Secretariat for Elders had previously visited the institution and told management to comply with laws and regulations, officials said. Chathura Mihudum said the home was not registered as a nursing facility and that it was severely overcrowded — with beds meant for about 15 people in a space where 71 were living.
Mihudum’s description underlines why the death toll was so high: many residents were unable to evacuate on their own and staff numbers were reportedly insufficient for the number of occupants. Police did not provide details on how the fire spread or whether safety measures such as alarms or clear escape routes were in place.
The arrest of the director comes as the immediate legal response. Authorities have charged the director on suspicion of causing deaths by negligence; investigators will now examine staffing, building safety, and whether the management ignored prior orders to regularize and reduce occupancy.
The most pressing unanswered question is what ignited the blaze late Wednesday. Police and investigators have begun forensic work at the site, but officials have not released a cause. That gap is central to both the criminal inquiry and any administrative consequences for local oversight bodies.
Beyond determining the origin of the fire, investigators face a wider accountability task: explaining how an unregistered, overcrowded facility continued to operate after government visits and instructions to follow the law. Families of residents and officials are likely to press for faster answers as the probe proceeds.
