Updated
An Australian man whose wife and daughter were killed in the Sri Lankan terrorism attacks has described the moment a bomb went off during an Easter Sunday church service.
Key points:
- There were initially eight explosions — three at church services, three at hotels, one outside a zoo south of Colombo, and another on the outskirts of the city
- Three bombs inside a van parked near one of the stricken churches exploded on Monday as police were trying to defuse them
- Dozens of detonators were discovered near Colombo’s main bus depot, but officials declined to say whether they were linked
At least 290 people were killed and 500 injured in a series of coordinated blasts in churches and hotels, in Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended in 2009.
Australian woman Manik Suriaaratchi and her 10-year-old daughter Alexendria were killed in the attack in Negombo, north of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. Ms Suriaaratchi’s husband, Sudesh Kolonne, was outside when the blast hit.
“I heard a huge noise and I jumped into the church and I saw that my wife and my daughter were on the floor,” he said.
“I just saw my daughter on the floor and I tried to lift her up, [but] she was already dead. And [then] exactly the same… next my wife is there.”
The family had recently moved back to the island nation after spending decades building their lives and careers in Melbourne.
At a vigil in Melbourne, Fahim Mawjood told SBS that the family had travelled back to Sri Lanka a few years ago to care for a relative.
In a Facebook post dedicated to the deceased mother and child, Mr Mawjood said it was “really shocking” they were no longer here.
“You lost your lives on a holy day in a holy place. The sweet memories of Alex and yours will live in our hearts forever. May your souls rest in peace Manik and Alex,” he wrote.
One of the organisers of the vigil, Pushpa Jayakody, said it had been a day of mourning for the local Sri Lankan community.
“We have been phoning each other, talking to each other, trying to console each other, because we never, ever expected something like this on a special day like this,” she said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday extended his “deepest and most sincere sympathies to the family”.
Military granted sweeping powers after attacks
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s military has been given wider powers to detain and arrest suspects — powers that were used during the civil war but withdrawn when it ended.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he feared the massacre could unleash instability and he vowed to “vest all necessary powers with the defence forces” to act against those responsible.
Adding to the tension, three unexploded bombs blew up Monday (local time) inside a van parked near one of the stricken churches as police were trying to defuse them, sending pedestrians fleeing in panic. No injuries were reported.
Dozens of detonators were discovered near Colombo’s main bus depot, but officials declined to say whether they were linked to the attacks.
The Government blocked access to Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram after the blasts, creating confusion and doing little to reassure residents and visitors that the danger had passed.
Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said 39 foreigners were killed, although the Foreign Ministry put out a different figure, saying the number of dead was 31.
The US State Department confirmed that at least four Americans were among the dead and several others were seriously wounded, but it did not release any identities.
The Sri Lankan Government said other foreigners killed were from the UK, Bangladesh, China, India, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and Australia.
A national day of mourning was declared for Tuesday.
Government had ‘prior information’ of attacks
International intelligence agencies had warned that the little-known group, National Thowfeek Jamaath, was planning attacks, but word apparently did not reach the Prime Minister’s office until after the massacre, exposing the continuing political turmoil in the highest levels of the Sri Lankan Government.
Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the intelligence agencies began issuing the warnings on April 4; the Defence Ministry wrote to the police chief with information that included the group’s name; and police on April 11 wrote to the heads of security of the judiciary and diplomatic security division.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who was out of the country on Sunday, had ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in October and dissolved the Cabinet.
The Supreme Court later reversed his actions, but the Prime Minister has not been allowed into meetings of the Security Council since October, which meant he and his Government were in the dark about the intelligence.
Two other government ministers also alluded to advanced knowledge. Telecommunications Minister Harin Fernando tweeted: “Some intelligence officers were aware of this incidence. Therefore there was a delay in action. Serious action needs to be taken as to why this warning was ignored.”
He said his father had heard of a possible attack as well and had warned him not to enter popular churches.
Mano Ganeshan, the minister for national integration, said his security officers had been warned by their division about the possibility that two suicide bombers would target politicians.
All the bombers were Sri Lankans, but authorities said they strongly suspected foreign links, Mr Senaratne said.
ABC/AP
Topics:
First posted
from Trend Gossip Now http://bit.ly/2IzV1Vu
0 Comments