UPDATED: The Sri Lanka Bombings: What we know so far
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Update: A string of eight devastating blasts, including suicide attacks, struck churches and luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 215 people and shattering a decade of peace in the island nation since the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.
The blasts — one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history — targeted St Anthony’s Church in Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 am (local time) as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said.
Bombs in Colombo, the capital, exploded at a church, a housing complex and restaurants at several luxury hotels popular with tourists, one of which was serving an Easter brunch.
Explosions were reported from three five-star hotels — the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury in Colombo.
Gunasekera confirmed 207 deaths. However, the News 1st channel said that 215 people have died in the blasts.
The Locations where the bombing took place:
Colombo:
1 St. Anthony’s Shrine: A bomb went off at this Roman Catholic church in Kochchikade, Colombo, around 8:45 a.m. Witnesses described scenes of terror and carnage. “It was a river of blood,” said N. A. Sumanapala, a shopkeeper who works near the church. “Ash was falling like snow.”
2 Shangri-La hotel: A blast hit the Table One Restaurant, which was serving Easter brunch, on the hotel’s third floor just before 9 a.m.
3 Kingsbury Hotel: A bomb shattered windows and walls.
4 Cinnamon Grand Hotel: The hotel had been blown up before, in 1984, when it was called the Hotel Lanka Oberoi.
5 Dematagoda housing complex: A few hours after the initial wave of bombings, a suspect who was being questioned by the the police in a Colombo suburb detonated a suicide bomb, killing three officers, according to officials. Explosives were found inside, and three suspects were arrested.
6 Tropical Inn: A blast occurred at this small hotel near the national zoo in Dehiwala, a suburb of Colombo later in the afternoon.
Negombo:
7 St. Sebastian’s Church: The deadliest attack hit a Roman Catholic church in Negombo, a city about 20 miles north of Colombo. Photos showed the church’s ceiling blown out and pews smashed in the middle of the church. At least 62 people were killed.
Batticaloa:
8 Zion Church: At least 27 people were killed when a bomb hit this church in the eastern city of Batticaloa.
Via NYT
Earlier
Sri Lanka declared a nationwide curfew after a string of eight explosions, mostly in Colombo, left at least 200 people dead and over 400 injured on Easter Sunday when three churches and four hotels were hit by explosions.
The government imposed a curfew with immediate effect and suspended social media and messaging services
Three churches that were targeted are: St Anthony’s Church in Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and the Secon church in the eastern town of Batticaloa. The blasts at churches happened during the Easter Sunday mass.
The eighth explosion, was in the Colombo district of Dematagoda. Police said that the eighth blast was a suicide bomb in the local zoo.
Locals and police gather at the Secon church Batticalova central road in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The three hotels hit were the Shangri-La Colombo, Kingsbury Hotel and Cinnamon Grand Colombo.
A general view showing the damages after an explosion hit Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A Police spokesman told reporters that at least 27 of the dead were foreigners. The Dutch Foreign Minister said that one of the victims was a Dutch citizen. Chinese and Turkish state media also reported their citizens were among those killed.
Police reported a seventh explosion in Dehiwela, a few kilometres south of capital Colombo, and the targets seems to be another hotel. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the blast hit a hotel in the southern Colombo suburb of Dehiwala. It was the seventh attack to hit the country on Sunday.
Armed soldiers stand guard at the scene after a explosion hit at St Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility.
Sri Lankan police investigate the scene after an explosion hit Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
More than 50 of the fatalities were killed in just one church, St. Sebastian’s in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo.
All schools in the country would be closed on Monday and Tuesday.
