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Christians, hotel workers, tourists among Easter attack dead

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Christians, hotel workers, tourists among Easter attack dead
News

News

Christians, hotel workers, tourists among Easter attack dead

2019-04-24 11:53 Last Updated At:12:00

More than 350 people were killed in bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

Some details on the victims:

SRI LANKA

The vast majority of victims were Sri Lankan, many from the nation's Christian minority. Their names and details of their lives were slow to trickle in and difficult to report, in part because authorities blocked most social media after the blasts.

Colombo archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith says at least 110 people were killed at St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, a seaside town that's the center of Sri Lanka's small Catholic community

Sneha Savindi, 12, was among them. Her uncle, Duminda, said her badly wounded body was only identifiable by a birthmark on her foot. Stroking the sealed coffin, Savindi's aunt, Lalitha, said, "I wanted to see you as a bride, but now you're in this box."

The Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, the capital, said three of its employees died at work.

At the hotel restaurant, Nisanga Mayadunne posted a selfie on Facebook showing her and her relatives around a table, eating eggs and sausages. Moments later, she and her mother, Shantha Mayadunne, were killed.

Shantha was an acclaimed chef who hosted live cooking programs on Sri Lankan television.

"They were the most loving family anyone could ask for," Manik Mayadunne, Nisanga's cousin, wrote on his Facebook page Monday.

In some places, the violence struck entire families. On Easter Sunday, as they did every Sunday, Berlington Joseph Gomez, 33, and his wife, Chandrika Arumugam, 31, went to church at Colombo's St. Anthony's Shrine. As always, they brought their three sons: 9-year-old Bevon, 6-year-old Clavon and baby Avon, just 11 months old.

Two days later, they were all being mourned by dozens of neighbors gathered at the modest home of Berlington's father, Joseph Gomez.

Candles burned beside three coffins and women sang hymns. The bodies of two grandsons have yet to be recovered.

"All family, all generation, is lost," Gomez said.

Negombo resident Herman Peiris lost two sisters and two nieces — one of whom was about to get married. He said his sisters, Celine and Elizabeth, spent most of their time as involved members at St. Sebastian church, and now people in the community are afraid to go there. He called for more security and for leaders to take both the blame and action.

"We villagers, or civil people, we can't do much," Peiris said.

Carpenter Dileep Roshan, 37, left behind a wife and daughter, his family said.

"His wife and daughter won't be able to do much now because he is gone," said his older brother, Sanjeevani Roshan. "The real question is what will happen to their future."

In addition to the suicide attacks at the hotels and churches, authorities have said two people were killed at a guesthouse and three police officers were killed by an explosion later Sunday that was set off by suspects trying to evade arrest.

UNITED KINGDOM

Sri Lanka's top diplomat in Britain says authorities know of eight British nationals killed in the bombings.

Londoner Matthew Linsey's 15-year-old daughter, Amelie, and 19-year-old son, Daniel, died on the final day of their holiday while in the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo. They apparently survived the first explosion but were killed by a second. Linsey described the event to The Times of London newspaper: "People were screaming. I was with my children. I couldn't tell whether they were all right; it was dark. I was worried there would be another blast. We ran out — another blast."

Lawyer Anita Nicholson, son Alex Nicholson and daughter Annabel Nicholson also died while on holiday and sitting at the Shangri-la Hotel restaurant, her husband, Ben Nicholson, said in a statement. He said, "The holiday we had just enjoyed was a testament to Anita's enjoyment of travel and providing a rich and colorful life for our family, and especially our children."

Former firefighter Bill Harrop and doctor Sally Bradley, a British couple who lived in Australia, were killed in one of the hotels, a family statement to The Australian newspaper said.

INDIA

The Indian Embassy in Colombo says 10 Indian nationals died in the blasts.

H.D. Kumaraswamy, the chief minister of southern Karnataka state, mourned the deaths of two fellow Janata Dal Secular party members, K.G. Hanumantharayappa and M. Rangappa.

"I am deeply shocked at the loss of our JDS party workers, whom I know personally," he wrote Monday on Twitter.

UNITED STATES

The State Department says at least four Americans were killed and several others seriously injured. It did not identify the victims.

Fifth-grader Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, spending a year in Sri Lanka on leave from the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., was among those killed, the school said in an email to parents. The email said, "Kieran was passionate about learning, he adored his friends, and he was incredibly excited" about returning to school.

Dieter Kowalski, who lived in Denver and worked for international education company Pearson, died in the blasts shortly after he arrived at his hotel for a business trip, the company and his family told the AP.

DENMARK

The Bestseller clothing chain confirmed Danish media reports that three of the children of its owner, business tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, were killed in the attacks. However, spokesman Jesper Stubkier gave no details in an emailed response to a query on the matter and said the company had no further comment.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland's foreign ministry says a Swiss national, a Swiss dual national and a non-Swiss member of the same family were killed in the bombings. It didn't identify the second country or give other details on the victims.

SPAIN

Spain's foreign ministry says a Spanish man and woman were killed but didn't provide further details. The mayor of Pontecesures in northwest Spain, Juan Manuel Vidal, told Radio Galega that he knew the local pair and says they were in their 30s, according to a report by the Spanish private news agency Europa Press.

AUSTRALIA

Australia's prime minister says a mother and daughter from that country were killed. Manik Suriaaratchi and her 10-year-old daughter, Alexendria, were attending a church service in Negombo when they died.

CHINA

China's foreign ministry says one Chinese citizen was killed in the blasts, while five are missing. Five others were injured, including two who suffered severe injuries.

OTHERS

The Netherlands, Japan and Portugal have confirmed that some of their nationals were among the dead.

DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.

The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.

“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”

Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.

The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.

Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.

“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”

It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.

“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”

Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.

First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”

Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.

“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”

For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.

“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)