Thousands of people storm the president's house and jump into the pool amid economic collapse

Growing anger in Sri Lanka boiled over as protesters broke through police lines to enter the president's house amid huge fuel shortages, food and medicine

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Sri Lanka: Protesters swim in presidential pool

Thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka have stormed into the President's official residence in the capital Colombo as growing public anger over the country's economic collapse reaches fever pitch.

The pre-planned rally broke into the residence as anger over the deteriorating economy boiled over.

Video from local TV station NewsFirst shows protesters wearing helmets and Sri Lankan flags storming the residence.

Police and military personnel present at the scene could not hold back the crowd, which came through the gates chanting their demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The waterfront residence and secretariat had already been the scene of sit-ins for months.

Protesters in the resort pool (

Picture:

Twitter)

This week, an ongoing economic crisis escalated further, with President Rajapaksa declaring the country bankrupt.

The crisis in Sri Lanka came as a lack of foreign exchange prevented the country from importing vital supplies, including fuel, food and medicine.

It also led to a spike in inflation rates, with regular power cuts and massive queues at the gas pump becoming the norm.