ARUN SANKAR
The president of Sri Lanka was considering using a navy patrol craft to flee his country on Tuesday after the nation’s economy collapsed and he promised to resign, according to reports. Sources cited by Agence France-Presse say Gotabaya Rajapaksa—who vowed to step down on Wednesday—considered making his dramatic seaborne getaway after airport immigration control refused to let him board a string of flights out of the country. The 73-year-old leader fled his presidential palace on Saturday just before it was stormed by a furious mob as part of nationwide demonstrations against Rajapaksa’s regime, which has taken Sri Lanka into the worst economic crisis in the country’s history. Officials say he planned to fly to Dubai, but airport officials would not go to the VIP suite to stamp his passport; Rajapaksa had refused to go through the main airport facilities out of fears of attack from other travelers.