New Delhi: A Kerala resident is among 207 killed in series of eight devastating bomb blasts that ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday.
The deceased has been identified as Kasaragod resident PS Rasina (58), who had gone to the island country along with her husband and was staying at Colombo's Shangri-La hotel, Kerala chief minister's office confirmed.
According to News18 Malayalam, Rasina was the daughter of PS Abdullah, a permanent resident of Sri Lanka.
The powerful blasts — six in quick succession and then two more hours later — wrought devastation, including at the capital's well-known St Anthony's Shrine, a historic Catholic Church.
At least two of the attacks were confirmed as being carried out by suicide bombers, according to police sources and a hotel official. Sri Lanka's defence ministry, however, said that majority of the explosions were suicide bombings.
The country has set up special hotlines for family and friends of the victims to get information — Police: 011 2 322 485, for information on tourists: 011 2 323 015.
The government further said that seven people have been held in connection with the blasts. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned the attacks — the worst act of violence since the end of Sri Lanka's civil war a decade ago — as "cowardly", as the government imposed an immediate and indefinite curfew across the entire country of 21 million people.
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