Still on Sri lanca: death toll 290
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Sri Lanka attack death toll rises to 290
What we're covering here
What's happening: At least 290 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a series of explosions across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, one of the most sacred days of the year for Christians.
Where did the blasts happen: High-end hotels and churches were hit in the coordinated attacks. Eight blast sites have been reported.
What's known about the victims: Bodies are arriving at hospitals in cities Batticaloa, Negombo, and capital city Colombo. Locals and foreigners are among the dead.
Who is responsible:Very little is known about who is behind the seemingly coordinated attacks. Sunday's violence punctures a decade of relative peace in the country following the end of its civil war in 2009. Sri Lanka has since turned itself into a popular tourist destination.
3:38 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
Minister: "All funeral costs are taken care of"
Harsha de Silva, the country's economic reforms minister, has promised in a tweet that funeral costs for those who died at St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo will be covered by the government.
He said that 102 people had died at the site.
3:37 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
Two Australians killed
Two Australians died in the bombings, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Melbourne on Monday. They were members of the same family, living in Sri Lanka, he said.
Morrison added that two Australian women had also been injured and were being treated for shrapnel wounds and a broken leg.
3:37 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
Colombo hospital director: Three children in critical care
Kumar Wickramasinghe, director of Colombo’s National Hospital, was working in the medical ward on Sunday morning when blast victims were first brought in.
The hospital received 263 people in the wake of Sunday’s attacks, he told CNN. Three children are among the wounded receiving intensive care.
The hospital is not in need of supplies, Wickramasinghe said, adding that so many locals came forward to donate blood yesterday that the hospital had to turn some volunteers away.
“We have enough supplies, medicine and others things, but help is always welcome,” he added.
2:27 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
US State Department travel advisory: 'Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka'
The US State Department has issued a revised travel notice about Sri Lanka, warning that “terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka," and reminding travelers to exercise caution.
Read the full statement:
Exercise increased caution in Sri Lanka due to terrorism.
Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.
Read the Safety and Security section on thecountry information page.
If you decide to travel to Sri Lanka:
- Be aware of your surroundings when traveling to tourist locations and crowded public venues.
- Follow the instructions of local authorities.
- Monitor local media for breaking events and adjust your plans based on new information.
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
- Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
- Review the Crime and Safety Report for Sri Lanka.
- US citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist.
2:09 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and the police investigation is ongoing.
Sri Lanka's Sajith Premadasa, Minister of Housing Construction and Cultural Affairs, described the Sunday attacks as a "brand new type of terrorism," after a decade of relative calm.
Sri Lanka's long civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict had prepared the government to deal with terrorism, Premadasa said.
"During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism," he added.
1:35 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
Buddhist monks visit a damaged church
Buddhist monks arrive at St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, one of the sites attacked on Sunday. From CNN staff in Colombo.
A small group of Buddhist monks in saffron robes arrived at St Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade today, where a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside a police and army perimeter. Damage from Sunday blast could still be seen outside the church.
Sri Lanka is a country of great religious diversity that crosses ethnic lines, and the monks’ presence was a sign of this. While Sri Lanka does not have a history of interfaith violence, there have been attacks against Muslims by extremist Buddhist groups in the past.
According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian. It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.
1:05 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
Hotel guest: 'It was the second blast when I sensed that something was not right'
Akshat Saraf, 30, was in Colombo's Shangri-La Hotel with his wife and infant daughter when the explosions struck. They could hear blasts from their room on the 25th floor, the Indian national told CNN.
“First blast was very loud and our room started shaking. At first I thought it was a thunderstorm and I didn’t pay too much attention. It had been raining in Sri Lanka for some time,” he said.
“It was the second blast when I sensed that something was not right.”
He and his family grabbed their passports and took the emergency exit to head to the ground floor.
“When we reached the 4th floor we saw blood on the stairs,” he said. “When we evacuated that’s when we saw a lot of ambulances and hotel staffs helping the injured guests outside.”
“It was a horrific sight. When I saw injured guests, they seemed very serious. Some of them [had] junks of glass stuck in their body. I could see some of the chefs in white aprons covered in blood.”
Police, army and emergency services personnel began arriving within five minutes, Saraf said. Guests were evacuated offsite, and then to a nearby shelter with a few hours, he added.
1:38 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
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 Airportlast night, Air Force spokesman Gihan Seneviratne told CNN.
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.
2:01 a.m. ET, April 22, 2019
Nun: 'I am not afraid to die, but to kill innocents with families is appalling'
Speaking to CNN outside St Anthony’s Shrine, Sister Ramoshini Fernando, a Catholic nun, said that several of her friends and parishioners died in the attack.
Her father had been near the explosion when it took place, and has been hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, she said.
Fernando said she hoped all Catholics would pull together in the attacks' aftermath. Wearing a blue robe and a prominent crucifix, Fernando said she was aware she could be a target and did not feel safe.
“I am not afraid to die,” she said, adding she has dedicated her life to religious service. “But to kill innocents with families is appalling.”
Sister Ramoshini Fernando outside of St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, Sri Lanka From CNN staff in Colombo
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