Death toll in Sri Lanka blasts rises to 137

Media 92 News
COLOMBO: At least 137 people were killed and hundreds injured as multiple blasts hit churches and hotels in Sri Lanka as worshippers attended Easter Sunday services.

The fatalities include at least 45 people killed in Colombo, where three hotels Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury and a church were hit and another 25 dead in the town of Batticaloa, where a church was attacked.

At least 67 people have been reported dead in a church in Negombo north of the capital.

A police official said at least nine foreigners are among those killed in Sri Lanka blasts.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, writing on his verified Twitter account, said the attacks had killed "many innocent people” and appeared to be a "well-coordinated attempt to create murder, mayhem & anarchy.”

The first explosions were reported at St Anthony’s Church in Colombo and St Sebastian’s in the town of Negombo just outside the capital.

The blasts hit the two churches as worshippers attended Easter services, police said.

Shortly after those blasts were reported, police confirmed three hotels in the capital had also been hit, along with a church in the town of Batticalao, in the east of the country.

An official at one of the hotels, the Cinnamon Grand Hotel near the prime minister’s official residence in Colombo, told AFP that the blast had ripped through the hotel restaurant.

He said at least one person had been killed in the blast.

An official at the Batticaloa hospital told AFP more than 300 people had been admitted with injuries following the blast there.

"A bomb attack to our church, please come and help if your family members are there,” read a post in English on the Facebook page of the St Sebastian’s Church at Katuwapitiya in Negombo.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister condemned the attack and wrote on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation.”