Thousands of people queued in Sri Lanka’s commercial city on Friday for cooking gas and petrol, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned of a food shortage as the island nation confronts a terrible economic crisis.

As citizens rushed to stock up on fuel, which is largely imported and in critically low supply due to the government’s lack of foreign cash, lines formed in several parts of Colombo, a metropolis of roughly 900,000 people.

“Only approximately 200 cylinders were supplied, despite the fact that there were roughly 500 people,” said Mohammad Shazly, a part-time chauffeur in line for the third day, hoping to get cooking gas for his family of five. Hundreds of others stood behind them, empty cylinders in hand.

“We can’t do anything without gas or kerosene oil,” Shazly added. “What’s the last option? Without nourishment, we will perish. That is absolutely certain to happen.”

Tourism-dependent Sri Lanka is suffering from a severe lack of foreign exchange, fuel, and medications, and economic activity has slowed to a crawl.

Because of the paucity of gasoline, most people are remaining at home, so public transportation is depleted and traffic is minimal.

Wickremesinghe also warned of a food shortage, promising to buy enough fertilizer for the upcoming planting season to enhance output and meet the country’s 22 million people’s food demands.

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