Sri Lanka Protesters Storm President Rajapaksa's Home: Here's As It Happened

Protesters in Sri Lanka stormed the official residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa demanding his resignation as the island nation plunges deeper into turmoil.

Videos of protesters braving water cannons and tear gas to enter the presidential palace went viral on Saturday. Rajapaksa had left his official residence by then.

The nation is facing its worst economic crisis as inflation has surged to 70%. People have been battling shortage of everything from fuel to medicines for months. Rajapaksa has hung on to power while appointing his opponent Wickremesinghe as prime minister.

At least 30 people, including two policemen, were injured in clashes between security personnel and protesters—some of them holding Sri Lankan flags and helmets—who had gathered in large numbers in the Fort area, demanding President Rajapaksa's resignation.

Here's what happened through the day:

(Twitter videos and photos shared with permission of @SriLanka Tweet and Kalani Kumarasinghe (@KalaniWrites).

Protesters, who had gathered outside the presidential home, stormed the premises on July 9 afternoon.

Videos showed protesters entering rooms and corridors, while hundreds also milled around the grounds outside. Some even jumped into the beds inside the presidential palace.

Video clips and photos shared on social media showed some protesters even take a dip in the presidential pool.

Earlier, hundreds had started flocking to Colombo to join the protests seeking Rajapaksa's ouster as the country faces its worst economic crisis.