10 Facts About the Sri Lanka Bomb Blasts That Are Known So Far

Yesterday (21 April 2019) morning, a series of deadly blasts hit various parts of Sri Lanka, and it’s considered one of the most serious attacks in the nation’s history.

So far, new details about the blasts are still developing, but here are the 10 facts that are known so far about the coordinated bombings that should have never happened in the first place.

What Happened?

The attacks were coordinated and took place in several areas.

Initially, at about 8:45 a.m. local time (Singapore time at 11:15 a.m.), restaurants in the Shangri-La hotel and Kinsbury hotel in the capital Colombo were hit by explosions. Five minutes later, the Cinnamon Grand hotel was also hit.

Soon after, three churches were hit by explosions as well, namely Colombo’s St Anthony’s Shrine, the St Sebastian’s church in the town of Negombo and Zion Church.

But it didn’t end.

What Happened After That?

Two more blast occurred after the initial blasts, bringing the total number of attacks to eight locations.

The new attacks occurred in another hotel and a house whereby the police were conducting raids.

Who were responsible?

So far, no group has come out to claim responsibility for the attacks.

However, the Sri Lanka authorities have arrested 13 people, and a source indicated that they were from the same radical group. The Sri Lanka Prime Minister stated that so far, the “names that have come up are local” but they are still investigating on whether they had any overseas link.

How did the Perpetrators carried out the attack?

It’s revealed that at least two of the eight attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.

In the Cinnamon Grand hotel attack, the perpetrator was in a queue for his breakfast buffet when he set off the deadly strike.

According to hotel officials there, it’s later revealed that he had given a fake address and claimed to be in the city for business.

Victims So Far

At this moment, it’s reported that at least 290 people were killed in the blasts, with almost 500 injured.

At least 35 of the people killed were foreigners, comprising British, Dutch, Indian, Chinese and American citizens.

There were no Singaporean casualty.

Video Footage of Blast in Social Media

Multiple footages of the blasts’ aftermath have been released on social media, and there’s one that showed the blast occurring in an in-car camera.

This was the blast at  St Anthony’s Shrine.

Reactions from Sri Lanka

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has told people to “hold our unity as Sri Lankans” and pledged to “wipe out this menace once and for all.” He is also ordering a probe on why their intelligence services had not acted on a warning about the attack, but details about this “warning” isn’t clear yet.

Security has been beefed up in the region and there’s an indefinite curfew for people in the country. Airport security has also been enhanced, and schools would be closed for two days.

Social Media Platforms in Sri Lanka Temporarily “Banned”

In order to prevent the spread of “incorrect and wrong information”, the country is placing a temporarily ban on social media platforms.

Reactions from Other World Leaders

All world leaders condemned the attack.

Our Singapore Prime Minister mentioned in a Facebook post that “Singapore condemns such senseless acts of violence.”

US President Donald Trump said in a Tweet, “The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!”

Sri Lankans Standing in Line to Give Blood

In a tragic incident like this, it’s heartening to see the good side of people.

According to a Sri Lankan, he is now seeing lots of people standing in long queues to give blood, since there should be a shortage of blood due to the number of injured people.

Sometimes, it’s stories like these that show the perpetrators that they’ve lost, because kindness still exists.