Sri Lanka news: Five British citizens among more than 200 killed after eight explosions hit churches and hotels
Security officials arrest 13 suspects over Easter Sunday violence
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Your support makes all the difference.More than 200 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after eight bombs were detonated at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
Ruwan Wijewardena, the country’s defence minister, described the blasts as terrorist attacks by religious extremists, though no group has claimed responsibility for the violence.
Most of the explosions are believed to have been suicide bombings, which occurred at sites mainly in and around the capital of Colombo.
Officials said that 13 suspects had been arrested in connection to the attacks.
Three police officers were also killed while carrying out a security raid at a suspected safe house several hours after the blasts occurred.
The majority of the victims are Sri Lankan but several citizens of other countries were also killed.
At least five British citizens lost their lives in the attacks.
Citizens from the US, Turkey, Denmark, China and Portugal were also among the dead.
The Sri Lankan government has declared a dawn-to-dusk curfew in Colombo and blocked access to social media and messaging sites, including Facebook and WhatsApp.
It is unclear when the curfew will be lifted.
Additional reporting by agencies
If you would like to read about the aftermath of the attacks please see what was our live coverage below:
Updated death toll: the Sri Lankan prime minister’s office has said the number of people killed in today’s bombing attacks has risen to 160.
One Chinese national was killed during the attacks on Sri Lankan churches and hotels on Sunday, Chinese state newspaper People’s Daily said.
Earlier, state news agency Xinhua said four Chinese nationals were injured, but were in a stable condition in hospital.
Update on arrests: Sri Lanka’s defense minister has said seven suspects have been arrested following series of blasts.
The BBC’s Azzam Ameen said they had been arrested in connected with “coordinated” bombings, and that police have confirmed most of the explosions came from suicide bombers.
The National Blood Transfusion Service of Sri Lanka is urgently requesting donors at the National Blood Centre in Narahenpita, and hospital blood banks in Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, Negombo, and Trincomalee.
Local media reporting “large numbers” of people have already donated at hospital blood banks.
Updated death toll: Sri Lankan officials say the death toll in eight bomb blasts that struck in and just outside of the capital, Colombo, on Easter Sunday has climbed to 190.
The foreign minister has told AP at least 27 foreigners were among those killed and that two police officers were killed during an operation to capture suspects from a safehouse in Dematagoda, the area outside Colombo where the eighth blast occurred.
The defence minister said seven suspects linked to the bombings have been arrested.
Updated death toll: a police spokesman has said 207 people have died and 450 others were injured, according to the latest report from Reuters.
Here’s everything we know so far about today’s attacks in Sri Lanka:
- Sri Lankan police said 207 people have been killed and 450 injured after eight bombings across the country. The foreign minister said at least 27 foreign citizens were among those killed.
- There were six initial blasts on Easter Sunday morning, including three at churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and the capital Colombo, and three at luxury hotels in Colombo.
- Two more explosions happened several hours later at a small hotel and housing scheme on the outskirts of the capital, with three police officers reportedly killed at the block of flats.
- No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sri Lanka’s defense minister Ruwan Wijewardane has said seven suspects have been arrested following series of blasts.
- Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe pledged “stern action” against those found responsible for the bombings, while the defence ministry said the culprits had been “identified”.
- The Sri Lanka government shutdown access to major social media and messaging services. It also declared a nationwide curfew, from 6pm to 6am local time.
- Global leaders including Narendra Modi, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Theresa May condemned the attacks. Pope Francis said he had learned of the attacks “with sadness and pain”.
Portugal’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed that one victim was a Portuguese citizen. The ministry in a Twitter post offers condolences to the family.
The Netherlands’ foreign minister Stef Blok said one Dutch person was among those killed in the bomb attacks. “Our thoughts are with the victims, including one Dutch national at this moment,” he said.
One Chinese national was killed during the attacks on Sri Lankan churches and hotels on Sunday, Chinese state newspaper People’s Daily has said.
Earlier on Britain’s high commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris said UK citizens had been “caught up” in the bombings, but could not confirm whether there were any casualties.
He said: “We that some British citizens were caught in the blasts but we are unable to say how many people are, or might have been, affected.”
Here’s more on the three Sri Lankan churches targeted in the blasts.
St. Anthony’s Shrine: This Roman Catholic church, located in the Kochchikade suburb of the capital Colombo, is one of the country’s best-known churches. Its roots reach back to the 18th century Dutch colonial period, when Catholicism was forbidden and priests would often hold services in secret. Local beliefs say the church’s founder, disguised as a merchant, helped a seaside fishing community by praying to stop the sea from eroding their village.
St. Sebastian’s Church: This Catholic church is in Negombo, a largely Catholic town north of Colombo. Built in the Gothic style, it was patterned on the Reims Cathedral in France and was completed in the 1940s.
Zion Church: This church is in the eastern coastal city of Batticaloa. It was founded in the 1970s.
St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, damaged in the Easter Sunday bomb blast (AP)
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