Three women were trampled to death during a stampede for an $8 cash handout in Colombo Thursday, amid growing desperation among Sri Lankans struggling to make ends meet during a coronavirus lockdown that has smashed the economy.

Some 1,000 people queued outside a businessman's warehouse for his annual handout during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, local member of parliament Mujibur Rahman said.

There was a rush for the 1,500-rupee gift - about the same amount as a labourer's daily wage - when the gates opened, he said. "Some people tried to break the queue and enter," Rahman told AFP.

"That is when the women at the top of the queue fell and were trampled to death."