8 Indians killed in Easter blasts in Sri Lanka

Colombo, April 22 

At least eight Indians are among the dead after a string of devastating suicide blasts struck churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing 290 people on Easter Sunday, officials said on Monday.

“Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry has confirmed the death of one more individual - H Shivakumar - in the blasts yesterday, taking the total number of Indian deaths in the tragedy to 8 till now,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo tweeted.

Earlier in the day, the mission confirmed the deaths of four Indians - Vemurai Tulsiram, S R Nagaraj, K G Hanumantharayappa and M Rangappa.

On Sunday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj identified three Indian nationals - Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh - as the victims of the blasts.

“Indian High Commission in Colombo has conveyed that National Hospital has informed them about the death of three Indian nationals,” she tweeted Sunday.

Also on Sunday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan identified a Keralite, P S Rasina, among those killed in the deadly blasts. However, there was no confirmation about her from the Lankan authorities.

Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group - the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) - carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people and wounding 500 others, including Indians, in the country’s worst terror attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but police have so far arrested 24 people - mostly members of the NIJ - in connection with the blasts. — PTI