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Colombo Blasts: Over 156 killed, 400 injured after 6 blasts at churches, hotels rock Sri Lanka

Speed News Desk 21 April 2019, 11:43 IST

Colombo Blasts: Over 59 killed, 200 injured after 6 blasts at churches, hotels rock Sri Lanka

Deadly multiple blasts hit high-end hotels and churches in Sri Lanka’s Colombo killing over 156, including 35 foreigners and over 400 injured. The blast occurred when hundreds of people as worshippers attended Easter services.

The blasts occurred at around 8.45 am (local time) as Easter Sunday masses were in progress. The first blasts were reported at St Anthony's Church in Colombo and St Sebastian's in the town of Negombo just outside the capital.

The other locations were explosion took place is Hotel Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotel.

External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, has said that she is in touch with the Indian High Commission in Colombo, following the blasts. “I am in constant touch with Indian High Commissioner in Colombo. We are keeping a close watch on the situation,” Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The terror attacks come 10 years after the LTTE war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009.

The flight operations to Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo have been suspended as the airport has been temporarily shut following serial explosions across Colombo.

Also read: Sri Lanka: Over 25 killed, 200 injured in six deadly blasts at Colombo churches and hotels

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