An attempt to break the world record for the largest gathering of twins may have failed on Monday (January 20) in Sri Lanka after an unexpectedly large turnout.

Organisers were trying to break Taiwan's Guinness World Record set in 1999 of 3,961 pairs of twins, 37 sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets.

Six thousand twins aged between three months to 89 years registered during a five hour period, however they didn't all stay for the mandatory photo or wait for at least five minutes, as per Guinness World Record rules.

Organisers have vowed to try again, confident that they will attract a similar number of twins.

There was no immediate comment from the Guinness organisation.

A Sri Lankan attempt to set a world record for the largest gathering of twins may have failed Monday after an unexpectedly large turnout overwhelmed organizers who vowed to try again. Organizers from the Sri Lanka Twins group had called on multiples across the island to pack a sports stadium in the capital Colombo to try to break Taiwan's Guinness World Record set in 1999 of 3,961 pairs of twins, 37 sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets. But a bigger than expected crowd flocked to the stadium, with a long registration queue snaking around the arena as birth certificates were checked and participants posed for photographs. Organizers said the huge turnout meant they were unable to meet strict guidelines set by Guinness World Records. Over 6000 twins ranging from ages of three months to 89 years had been registered during a five-hour period. However, not all of them remained at the stadium to pose for a mandatory group photo or waited for at least five minutes, as required by the guidelines. Some twins traveled for hours just to be part of the record attempt. Two army generals, Jayantha and Pooraka Seneviratne led a contingent of twins in the Sri Lankan military. The organizers want to attempt again if they fail this time and are confident they would be able to attract a similarly large crowd next time.