Desk/SS
At least 207 have been killed including 35 foreigners and over 450 got injured in a series of bomb blasts at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday (21 April). Eight blasts were reported, including at three churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo’s Kochchikade district and the luxurious hotels the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand luxury hotels all in the capital.
From the social media and news, it is confirmed that the first blust took place at St Anthony’s Shrine, a well-known Catholic church in the capital Colombo. The second deadly explosion was then confirmed at St Sebastian’s, a church in the town of Negombo, north of the capital. After a while police confirmed that a third church in the town of Batticaloa had been hit, along with three high-end hotels in the capital.
The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned the attacks as “cowardly” and said the government was working to “contain the situation”. It is also informed that extensive damage id found at one of three churches targeted in the near simultaneous blasts on Sunday morning. A biggest part of the church church roof was blown out in the explosion, with roof tiles and splintered wood littering the floor and pools of blood in between wounded worshippers.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, Harsha de Silva said that he had been to two of the attacked hotels and was at the scene at St Anthony’s Shrine, where he described “horrible scenes”. In his Twitter account, he wrote, “I saw many body parts strewn all over,” he tweeted, adding that there were “many casualties including foreigners”. He also added, “Please stay calm and indoors”.
It has been reported that it was a suicide bomber and that three people, believed to be security personnel, were killed during a police raid. The prime minister has also confirmed that eight people have so far been arrested.