UPDATED: The Sri Lanka Bombings: Children of Asos owner among the foreign victims
Anders Holch Povlsen, Denmark’s richest man and Asos owner, has said three of his children were killed in the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sir Lanka.
Anders Holch Povlsen’s four children were visiting the country over the Easter holiday.
The attacks left at least 290 victims dead and 500 injured.
Mr Hock Povlsen, 46, is the largest stakeholder in Asos and was ranked at 252 on Forbes’ 2019 list of billionaires and owns more than 1 per cent of all land in Scotland.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said that at least 36 foreigners were among those killed.
Those countries that have confirmed their citizens were killed include the United States, Australia, Britain, China, Japan and Portugal.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew was implemented for a second night on Monday in Colombo, the capital. And major social media and messaging services, including Facebook and WhatsApp, have been blocked by the government to curb the spread of misinformation.
The US State Department said that terrorist groups “continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka” and raised its travel advisory to warn visitors about potential threats.
It said terrorists could attack “with little or no warning,” and listed several potential targets, including tourist spots, transportation centres, markets, malls, government offices, hotels and places of worship.
The travel advisory level was raised to “exercise increased caution,” the second lowest of four levels. It had previously been at the lowest level, “exercise normal precautions.”
The advisory gave no specific details of any groups that could be planning attacks, or who might be responsible for Sunday’s violence.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also raised its advisory level following the attacks and urged travellers on Monday to “reconsider your need” to go to Sri Lanka.
As the authorities investigate the bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, their focus has centred on National Thowheeth Jama’ath, a little-known group that experts said promotes Islamic terrorist ideology in South-east Asia, while a government spokesman said an international network was involved.
