Easter Tragedy: At least 42 worshippers dead, over hundred injured as blasts hit Sri Lanka churches, hotels

As worshippers attended Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, April 21st, a string of blasts hit high-end hotels and churches injuring hundreds of people and killing at least 42.


The first explosions were reported at St Anthony’s Church in Colombo and St Sebastian’s in the town of Negombo just outside the capital.

At least 160 people injured in the St Anthony’s blast had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital by mid-morning, an official told AFP.

"A bomb attack to our church, please come and help if your family members are there," read a post in English on the Facebook page of the St Sebastian’s Church at Katuwapitiya in Negombo.


An official at the Batticaloa hospital told AFP more than 300 people had been admitted with injuries following the blast there.

At least one of the victims was killed in Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand Hotel, near the prime minister’s official residence, where the blast ripped through a restaurant, a hotel official told AFP.

Photos circulating on social media showed the roof of one church had been almost blown off in the blast.

The floor was littered with a mixture of roof tiles, splintered wood and blood.

Several people could be seen covered in blood, with some trying to help those with more serious injuries. SAD!

~AFP