Update — June 5–6: Sri Lanka Police said another resident receiving hospital treatment for injuries sustained in the fire had died, raising the death toll to 13, Ada Derana and NewsFirst reported. The Island, reporting on Saturday, said six of the injured residents remained hospitalised with serious injuries. NewsFirst, quoting police, said 70 people had been at the care home when the fire broke out and that 51 residents were rescued; post-mortems on identified victims were scheduled at Horana Base Hospital on Friday, with DNA testing to be used to confirm the identities of those not yet identified by relatives. Authorities transferred roughly 50 residents who had been sheltered overnight at the Batagoda Junior School to another branch of the same elderly care organisation in Galpatha on Thursday morning with the assistance of Sri Lanka Army personnel.
Police told NewsFirst on Saturday that the state would fund the final rites of victims whose bodies remained unclaimed by relatives. Post-mortem examinations of all those who died were to be carried out at Horana Hospital on Saturday, after which the bodies would be released to relatives for funeral arrangements. Five of the surviving injured remained under treatment at the Horana Base Hospital.
NewsFirst reported on Saturday afternoon that the bodies of five fire victims had been handed over to relatives following post-mortem examinations at Horana Hospital, with three more post-mortems scheduled later the same day. Three injured residents remained under treatment at the hospital, with one in the Intensive Care Unit; two others had been discharged. Police said the final rites of victims whose bodies remained unclaimed after 14 days would be performed at state expense. The Government Analyst’s report and an Electricity Board report on the cause of the fire had not yet been released.
The director of the Anguruwatota elders’ home where a fire killed at least 12 residents on Tuesday night has been arrested, produced before the Horana Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and remanded in custody until June 11, NewsFirst reported. The director was named as Isuru Anushka Perera, widely known on social media as “Loku Aiya”.
The death toll has risen to 12 as of Thursday morning, with seven survivors still admitted to Horana District Hospital for treatment, police said. Newswire reported that 71 residents had been at the care home at the time of the fire, with 51 rescued unharmed during the initial response. Earlier Thursday, Ada Derana and NewsFirst had reported the toll at 11 with three residents still unaccounted for; NewsFirst, citing Police Spokesperson Senior Superintendent F.U. Wootler, said one of the eight residents who had been hospitalised after the blaze died early Thursday morning.
Police, firefighters, emergency responders and area residents rescued occupants during the initial response on Tuesday before search teams later began recovering bodies from inside the property.
Horana Magistrate Lakmini Vidanagamage conducted an inquiry at the site on Thursday morning, with the burned bodies removed in her presence, Ada Derana reported. The body of a cat that had died in the fire was also recovered alongside the human remains. A Judicial Medical Officer’s report is expected to provide further detail on the victims, and Government Analyst examiners are continuing to take part in the on-site investigation. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Authorities have arranged temporary accommodation for 51 displaced residents at Batagoda Primary School, with plans to relocate them to another safe location during the day.
Fresh details from the National Secretariat for Elders, reported separately by Newswire on Thursday, identified the facility as “Mawpiya Sewana Senehase Kedella” and said it had been operating since 2024 without the registration required under Sri Lanka’s laws governing residential care facilities for older persons. The roughly 70 residents at the time of the fire included 62 persons with mental health conditions and eight elderly persons, the Secretariat said. Relatives told the agency that families were required to pay an admission fee of Rs. 75,000 and a monthly fee of approximately Rs. 35,000 per resident, and that the facility was run by only a small number of staff — the owner and a handful of caregivers. The Secretariat said it had asked Police to conduct a formal investigation into the operation of the institution.
Investigators have also identified the area where the fire is believed to have originated. Preliminary observations suggest the blaze may have started due to an electrical leak involving a water pump and a multi-plug connection, and around 80 mattresses stored nearby may have contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, Newswire reported. Officials cautioned that the exact cause has not yet been conclusively determined and that investigations by Police, the Government Analyst and other relevant agencies are continuing.
NewsFirst, which identified the facility as “Senehasa Kendella”, quoted villagers and survivors as alleging that several residents had been physically restrained inside the building and could not flee the flames; some mentally ill patients may have been tied up, witnesses told the broadcaster. The Island reported on Friday that eyewitnesses among the first responders said iron chains on some residents could not be removed during the rescue, and that some occupants died while still restrained. Police spokesman Wootler told the newspaper there were “rumours to that effect” but said authorities were not in a position to verify the claims until a Government Analyst’s report had been received. Kalutara District Secretary Sunanda Herath confirmed the home had been operating without formal registration or a valid licence. Villagers said a petition signed by more than 100 residents had previously been submitted to local authorities and the Child Protection Authority calling for intervention at the facility, but that no action had been taken before the fire. Survivors said the blaze broke out between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday and spread within minutes, with villagers breaking through window grills to free occupants before emergency responders arrived.
The Anguruwatota tragedy is the most lethal building fire reported in the country this year. The initial response and missing-persons figures were detailed in our earlier coverage of the Anguruwatota fire on Tuesday evening. Horana Police are continuing further investigations.
