At least 50 people have been killed and 280 injured in explosions which hit three churches and three hotels in and around the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, officials said Sunday.
The blasts hit several high-end hotels and one church in the capital, while two additional churches were targeted outside Colombo, police said. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear.
More than 50 people killed in blast at one church in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo, Sri Lankan police said. Officials told TRT World they expected the death toll to cross 100.
National Hospital spokesman Dr Samindi Samarakoon earlier said at least 30 people had been killed in the blasts. The 283 people wounded have been admitted to the capital Colombo's main hospital, Samarakoon said.
A security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters said he suspected at least two of the blasts were caused by suicide bombers.
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The first blast ripped through St Anthony's Shrine in Colombo.
"Our people are engaged in evacuating the casualties," a Reuters' source said at St Anthony's.
Alex Agileson who was in the vicinity said buildings in the surrounding area shook with the blast.
A number of injured were carried in ambulances, he added.
This video from St Sebastian's Church Facebook pages shows the damage from the blast:
This article has been adapted from its original source.
