AKIPRESS.COM - Sri Lankan police say three women died in a stampede Thursday when residents of a Colombo neighborhood scrambled to receive aid being distributed for people who have lost their livelihood because of the new coronavirus restrictions, AP reports.

Police spokesman Jaliya Senaratne said there were few more people injured and hospitalized. He said police arrested six private individuals who organized the aid distribution.

The Maligawatte area of capital Colombo is a crowded neighborhood where most people drove three-wheeler taxies, ran mobile kiosks or engaged in daily-wage labor for a living.

Sri Lanka has reported just over 1,000 COVID-19 cases with nine deaths.