Multiple blasts hit Sri Lanka churches, hotels; at least 210 dead, hundreds injured.

Multiple blasts hit Sri Lanka churches, hotels; at least 210 dead, hundreds injured

COLOMBO: The death toll in a string of blasts targeting hotels and churches in Sri Lanka on Sunday (Apr 21) has risen to 210, including 35 foreigners, a police official told AFP. At least 450 injured people have been admitted to hospital, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera told reporters in Colombo. He added that three people had been arrested in connection with the attacks that mostly targeted high-end hotels in the capital and churches where worshippers were attending Easter services. Mr Gunasekera said the police were investigating whether suicide bombers were involved in all of the blasts. In a video on his Twitter account, Sri Lanka's State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene said the country's Criminal Investigations Department is working with the police and the military to investigate the attacks. We believe that all the culprits who have been involved in this unfortunate terrorist incident will be taken into custody as soon as possible," he said, adding that suspects have been identified. Eight explosions in hotels and churches have been reported on Sunday. A police official said at least 45 people had been killed in Colombo, where three hotels and a church were hit. Another 67 were killed in an attack on a church in Negombo north of the capital, with another 25 dead at a church in the town of Batticaloa, in the east of the country. 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 media. "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 Batticalao, in the east of the country. 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 media. An official at the Batticaloa hospital told media more than 300 people had been admitted with injuries following the blast there. On Sunday afternoon, police confirmed there were two more blasts in the capital. The first of the two new blasts was reported in a hotel in the southern Colombo suburb of Dehiwala and killed at least two people, police said. The hotel was reportedly located near the national zoo. The second was in the suburb of Orugodawatta in the north of the capital, although there were no further details on what was targeted and the number of people injured. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed there were no Singaporean casualties after the attacks. Two Turkish citizens were those killed in the attacks on Sunday, according to Turkey's state media Anadolu. Chinese state paper People's Daily said one Chinese national was killed during the attacks, while Xinhua reported four others were injured and in a stable condition in hospital. President Maithripala Sirisena said he had ordered the police special task force and military to investigate who was behind the attacks and their agenda. The military had been deployed, according to a military spokesman, and security stepped up at Colombo's international airport. "PM (Prime Minister) met with ministers and senior military personnel; all measures taken to maintain peace," Sri Lanka's Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, Harsha de Silva, said in a tweet on his verified account. Security tightened. Please stay calm. Please act responsibly. Please no politics. We must all act together as Sri Lanka citizens. My condolences to all families who lost loved ones." He said in another tweet he had been to two of the attacked hotels and was at the scene at St Anthony's Shrine, and described "horrible scenes." "Please stay calm and indoors," he added. 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. #Gm*