Historical eventNovember 92012

2012 Welikada prison riot

At least 27 people are killed and dozens are wounded in conflicts between inmates and guards at Welikada prison in Colombo.

Everything on November 9Original source

In context

When
Friday, November 9 201214 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2010s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2012.

What happened

The Welikada prison riot was a prison riot that occurred on 9 November 2012 at Welikada Prison in Sri Lanka. The riot broke out during a search for illegal arms. The riot left 27 people dead and 40 injured. The government has appointed a committee to investigate the riot. Welikada Prison, which has around 4,000 prisoners, has witnessed a number of violent riots in its history. This prison riot was the worst in Sri Lanka's history since the 1983 riot, also at Welikada Prison, which left 53 prisoners dead.

November 9 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 2005Venus Express
  2. 20052005 Amman bombings
  3. 2011Emergency Alert System
  4. 2012List of rail accidents (2010–2019)
  5. 20122012 Welikada prison riot
  6. 20142014 Catalan self-determination referendum
  7. 20162016 Croydon tram derailment
  8. 2019Alabama Crimson Tide football
  9. 2019Imran Khan
  10. 2020Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
  11. 2023NYU Langone Health

Also in 2012

  • September 9ISROThe Indian space agency puts into orbit its heaviest foreign satellite yet, in a streak of 21 consecutive successful PSLV launches.
  • September 99 September 2012 Iraq attacksA wave of attacks kills more than 100 people and injure 350 others across Iraq.
  • September 11Central Intelligence AgencyThe American consulate and CIA annex in Libya were attacked by a heavily armed group, resulting in the deaths of U.S. ambassador J. Chris…
  • September 112012 Pakistan factory firesA total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan.
  • September 11BenghaziThe U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths.
  • September 12Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 (2012)Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 crashes on approach to Palana Airport, killing 10 and injuring four.
  • September 52012 Afyonkarahisar arsenal explosionAn accidental explosion at a Turkish Army ammunition store in Afyon, western Turkey kills 25 soldiers and wounds four others.
  • November 17Manfalut train–bus collisionAt least 50 schoolchildren are killed in an accident at a railway crossing near Manfalut, Egypt.

Everything we record for 2012 →

Sources

Cite this page

“2012 Welikada prison riot”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/2012-welikada-prison-riot-2012-november-9, accessed October 26, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did 2012 Welikada prison riot happen?

November 9 2012 — 14 years ago, on a Friday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.