Serial blasts hit churches, five-star hotels in Sri Lanka; at least 42 killed

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Serial blasts hit churches, five-star hotels in Sri Lanka; at least 42 killed

The newspaper also said that there were several foreign tourists among the victims.

Sunday April 21, 2019 11:33 AM, Agencies

[Blasts are also reported at the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury five-star hotels in Colombo. (Photo: Twitter/@saksivarnan)

Colombo: At least 42 people were killed and over 200 others injured in six explosions on Sunday that targeted churches and five-star hotels in Sri Lanka, media reports said.

According to the island nation's The Daily Mirror newspaper, explosions were reported as hundreds of worshipers gathered at the St. Anthony's Church in Kochchikade, Kotahena, St. Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya in Katana, and a third one in Batticaloa to commemorate Easter Sunday.

Easter Sunday is one of the major feasts in the Christian calendar.

Blasts are also reported at the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury five-star hotels in Colombo.

The newspaper also said that there were several foreign tourists among the victims.

Images on social media showed the inside the St. Sebastian church with a shattered ceiling and blood on the pews, reports the BBC.

A hotel official at the Cinnamon Grand, near the prime minister's official residence, told Agence France-Presse the explosion there had ripped through a restaurant, killing at least one person.

No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Sushma Swaraj, Union Minister of External Affairs, India said she is in constant touch with Indian High Commissioner in Colombo. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation", she wrote on Twitter.

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