Colombo, Oct 15 (IANS): Two Iranian inmates detained at the Colombo Remand Prison in Sri Lanka died after consuming an alcohol-based sanitizer, local media reported.
In a statement on Thursday prisons spokesman Chandana Ekanayake said 10 other Iranian inmates jailed in the facility were hospitalised after they drank the same sanitizer, reports Xinhua news agency.
Ekanayake said the sanitizers were provided by the Iranian Embassy to the inmates in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The prisoners, who have been detained on charges of heroin trafficking, consumed the sanitizer late on Wednesday, the spokesman said.
The injured inmates were not in critical condition.