UK police on the hunt as Sri Lanka athlete, manager go missing at Commonwealth Games

The Birmingham police are on the hunt for a Sri Lankan female Judo athlete and her manager who went missing during the Commonwealth Games in England on Tuesday.

The athlete, who's name has not been revealed by the Sri Lankan authorities yet, and the manager of the Judo team representing Sri Lanka in the 70th Commonwealth Games disappeared after she lost her first round.

It has been reported that the Chef-de-Mission of the Sri Lankan contingent has acquired all passports of the rest of the 108 athletes and 51 officials "to avoid further issues."

The duo is believed to have decamped as they do not want to return back to Sri Lanka, which is facing the worst economic crisis in history.

While the country is gripped with hunger, protests, political instability and severe shortages of fuel, medicine and other necessities, Sri Lankans are fleeing the island that was until recently considered a tourist haven.

Last week, nine Sri Lankan navy sailors who participated in a massive joint naval exercise in the Pacific Ocean jumped ship in a bid to stay in the United States.

The sailors who were part of a 50-person contingent that was taking part in the 26-country Rim of the Pacific joint naval exercise between Hawaii and Southern California, were expected to return on a Sri Lankan ship that was a gift from the United States.

They represented a variety of ranks and ages between 27 and 36.

A US embassy spokesman said that individuals who break US immigration laws can be subject to arrest, detention, and deportation, "and those who accrue unlawful presence in the United States can be prevented from returning to the US for up to 10 years."

With a severe shortage of food, money and jobs, Sri Lankans are leaving the country in mass exodus via legal and illegal channels.

Men, women and children are risking their lives trying to get to Australia and neighbouring India in boats, trying to enter other countries illegally.

Meanwhile the Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Bureau this month said that a record number of more than 150,000 Sri Lankans have left for other countries in search of jobs from January to the first week of July.

"27,937 people went abroad for jobs in June this year alone," said the bureau in a statement, outlining that most Sri Lankans are leaving for the Middle Eastern countries in search of greener pastures.

"I have never, ever imagined leaving Sri Lanka again. I came back to take care of my parents, but now I have to go, and bring up my children here," said Ifthikar Mohamed, a 45-year-old software engineer who repatriated to Sri Lanka three years ago after living in the UAE for 11 years.

"Once I had saved up and bought myself a house, this was the best place to live. Truly a paradise. But not anymore. Now I have to struggle to even feed my children and my parents."

While the spiralling cost of living and the lack of essentials is driving people away from the nation, the stress behind waiting in queues is cracking others.

After months of day-long queues for fuel, Sri Lankans say they are "fed up."