Three churches were attacked, in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. Three luxury hotels in Colombo, the Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La Hotel and The Kingsbury, were targeted in the blasts.
The number of people killed in Sri Lanka's church and hotel attacks has risen to 290, Superintendent of Police Ruwan Gunasekara told CNN, in a steep upward revision of earlier estimates. About 500 more are injured.
Three churches were attacked, in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa – they were all packed with Christians celebrating Easter Day. Three luxury hotels in Colombo, The Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La Hotel and The Kingsbury, were targeted in the blasts on Sunday morning. By the afternoon, a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia had also been attacked.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and the police investigation is ongoing.
People from at least eight countries were killed in the series of attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, including:
- 5 British citizens, including 2 US-UK dual citizens
- 3 Indians
- 3 Danes
- 2 Chinese
- 2 Turkish citizens
- 1 Dutch
- 1 Portuguese
Several US citizens were among those killed in the Sri Lanka attacks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. He did not offer any more details on the victims, but said that the US Embassy was working to provide possible assistance to the Americans affected by the attacks.
Six-foot-long pipe bomb found near airport and defused
An improvised explosive device (IED) was discovered near the road leading to Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Airport last night. The device was found at around 10:15 pm local time, and defused by authorities. Seneviratne said it was packed inside a PVC pipe, and estimated the bomb’s size to be 5.5 to 6 feet long.
Social media still blocked
Tourists and residents attempting to get in touch with relatives via social media on Monday were unable to do so without a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or a foreign SIM card, after the government ordered a block on social media in the aftermath of the attacks. Attempts to load Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the messaging app Viber all failed Monday morning. Twitter appears to be accessible and some government ministers have been tweeting out information. Some Sri Lankans have been circumventing the blocks with VPNs. People using foreign SIM cards which roam onto non-Sri Lankan networks were unaffected.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
