160 killed, over 450 injured as blasts hit churches, hotels in Colombo

ColomboAt least 160 people were killed and more than 450 others were injured after simultaneous blasts hit three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday around 845 am local time as the Easter Sunday masses were in progress in churches The places are frequented by touristsThe explosions were reported as hundreds of worshipers gathered at the St Anthonys Church in Kochchikade Kotahena St Sebastians Church in Katuwapitiya in Katana and the third one in Batticaloa to commemorate Easter SundayThree explosions were also reported from the fivestar hotels the Shangrila the Cinnamon Grand and the KingsburyAlso ReadSri Lanka blasts Twitterati condemns expresses condolencesSri Lankan security personnel keep watch outside the church premises following a blast at the St Anthonys Shrine in Kochchikade in Colombo on April 21 2019The Colombo National Hospital spokesperson Dr Samindi Samarakoon said more than 300 people have been admitted with injuries Dr Kalanidhi Ganeshalingam the spokesperson for the Batticaloa hospital said over 100 have been admitted with injuries from St Michaels Church explosion No group has claimed responsibility for Sundays attacksHowever most of the deadly attacks in the past in Sri Lanka were carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam LTTE which ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai PrabhakaranAlso ReadSri Lanka blasts What is happening to the world asks Sania MirzaPolice requests public to refrain from blasts sites remain calm and assist Police in maintaining Law and Order Spreading Rumors amp inaccurate News is Legally punishable crime amp refrain from communal hatred SocialMedia LKA SriLanka EasterSundayAttacksLK Colombo pictwittercom1KackTgrTOmdash Sri Lanka Tweet ethAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u0087plusmnethAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u0087deg SriLankaTweet April 21 2019Security tightened in Katunayake Bandaranaike Airport BIA following blasts in churches and hotels in island Stay Safe Pray For Sri Lanka ethAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u0087plusmnethAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u0087deg ethAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u0099AcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u008fLKA SriLanka EasterSundayAttacksLK Colombo PrayForSriLankamdash Sri Lanka Tweet ethAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u0087plusmnethAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircAcircu00c2u0087deg SriLankaTweet April 21 2019Sri Lanka Prime Minister condemned the attack in a tweet and appealed to citizens to stay strong and united I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation he tweetedI strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situationmdash Ranil Wickremesinghe RW_UNP April 21 2019The Sri Lanka government has called an emergency meeting the Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Harsha de Silva said in a tweet Emergency meeting called in a few minutes Rescue operations underway he tweetedHeads of Army Navy Airforce and IG along with SecDef SecFor Affairs meeting with RWijewardene along with a few of us Ministers at MOD All necessary emergency steps taken by Gov of SriLanka Soon official statement will be issued pictwittercomWkVQdcA5bTmdash Harsha de Silva HarshadeSilvaMP April 21 2019The Sri Lankan government has summoned an emergency meeting called All necessary emergency steps have been taken by the government a minister said adding that an official statement will be issued soon Horrible scenes I saw many body parts strewn all over Emergency crews are at all locations in full force We at 1990 also have close to 20 units at the various locations We took multiple casualties to hospital Hopefully saved many lives Harsha de Silva saidAlso ReadSri Lanka blasts Jacqueline Fernandez and other celebs denounce the attacksAmbulances are seen outside the church premises with gathered people and security personnel following a blast at the St Anthonys Shrine in Kochchikade Colombo on April 21 2019 PicAFPPresident Maithripala Sirisena has appealed for calm I have been shocked by this totally unexpected incidents The security forces haven been asked to take all action necessary Sirisena saidAs Colombo was rocked by a multiple explosions External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday that India was keeping a close watch on the situation Colombo I am in constant touch with Indian High Commissioner in Colombo We are keeping a close watch on the situation IndiainSL Swaraj tweetedThe official handle of the High Commission of India in Colombo also said in a tweet that they were also closely monitoring the situation It also provided helpline numbers for Indian citizens in need of assistance or help and for seeking clarificationExplosions have been reported in Colombo and Batticaloa today We are closely monitoring the situation Indian citizens in need of assistance or help and for seeking clarification may call the following numbers 94777903082 94112422788 94112422789mdash India in Sri Lanka IndiainSL April 21 2019In addition to the numbers given below Indian citizens in need of assistance or help and for seeking clarification may also call the following numbers 94777902082 94772234176mdash India in Sri Lanka IndiainSL April 21 2019with agency inputsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates