Sri Lankans stand in a queue to buy gasoline near a fuel station during a fuel shortage in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Sri Lankans Tuesday stood in long lines for the fourth straight day to buy gasoline amid a fuel shortage. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Republished November 07, 2017 - 7:20 AM
Original Publication Date November 07, 2017 - 5:16 AM
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Tens of thousands of motorists formed long lines at gasoline stations in Sri Lanka on Tuesday, as the country's fuel shortage continued for a fifth day.
State-run oil retailer Ceylon Petroleum Corp. has been providing limited supplies since last week following a delayed fuel shipment and the rejection of another shipment because it was substandard.
Authorities say the next shipment of gasoline will arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday night, but trade union leader D.J. Rajakaruna told reporters Tuesday that supplies across the country won't be normalized until Friday.
Some of the people waiting in long lines were carrying bottles despite a government order to gas stations not to dispense gasoline in bottles. Others waited in their cars, trucks, trishaws and motorbikes.
CPC and Lanka Indian Oil Co., a subsidiary of Indian Oil Co., are blaming each other for the fuel shortage.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017