Fire at unregistered Sri Lanka nursing home kills 13, probe continues

An unregistered nursing home in western Sri Lanka was operating with beds for only about 15 people while housing 71 residents, a gap that now sits at the center of a deadly fire investigation after 13 people died in Anguruwatota.

The fire broke out late Wednesday, June 3, 2026, and by Friday the death toll had risen again after one injured resident died in hospital. Fifty people were rescued by neighbors, firefighters and police, while seven others were hospitalized after the blaze tore through the building about 55 kilometers southeast of Colombo.

Officials said the home had not been properly registered under Sri Lanka’s rules for residential care facilities for older persons and had previously been warned to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Sri Lanka’s National Secretariat for Elders said the overcrowded facility was being run outside the formal system despite the vulnerability of the people living there, including residents with mental-health conditions.

News 1st said the residents included 62 people with mental-health conditions and eight elderly residents. Relatives said families were charged an admission fee of 75,000 rupees and a monthly fee of about 30,000 rupees, underscoring how a private care economy can flourish even when oversight is weak.

An employee at the home said the blaze may have started with an electrical short circuit in a wire attached to a water pump. He said the fire first ignited mattresses and pillows before spreading quickly through the house. After the flames were brought under control, charred medicines, glasses cases, reclining chairs and other belongings were left scattered through the burned-out shell.

Police arrested the home’s director on suspicion of causing deaths through negligence, and a court ordered him detained for a week while investigators continued their work. News 1st reported that he was remanded until June 11 after appearing before the Horana Magistrate’s Court.

The case has quickly become more than a criminal probe. It has exposed the risks of unregistered care homes housing frail residents outside the formal system, where overcrowding, weak enforcement and unclear accountability can turn a single fire into a mass-casualty disaster. Sri Lankan officials are now moving toward mandatory registration for elders’ homes, a policy shift that comes only after the cost of leaving such facilities unchecked has been measured in lives.