A string of blasts hit high-end hotels and churches inSri Lankaon Sunday, killing at least 200 people and injuring hundreds as worshippers attended Easter services.
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.
The Colombo National hospital director, Samindi Samrakoon, told Reuters she knew of at least 200 deaths and 480 people injured.
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.
Shortly after those blasts were reported, police confirmed three hotels in the capital had also been hit, along with a church in the town of Batticaloa, in the east of the country.