At least four Americans were killed in the attacks on Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday, and several others were "seriously injured," a US State Department official said on Monday. The wave of attacks on hotels and churches left 310 dead and 500 wounded. Washington had previously reported "several" Americans among the victims, without further details.
"We will continue to work to provide assistance and support to all affected US citizens and their families," said the State Department official, while refusing to provide more information about the victims "out of respect. for the privacy "of their loved ones.
A professional trip
Among the four Americans killed is a "big-hearted" technician on a Sri Lankan mission, Dieter Kowalski, his employer, the British educational services company Pearson, said. He posted his last post on Facebook just before flying out of Denver, Colorado, where he resided. "I love these work journeys, 24 hours flying, see you soon Sri Lanka!", The 40-year-old man from Wisconsin, in the northern United States, wrote.
In a message to the staff, Pearson CEO John Fallon reported that Dieter Kowalski had just arrived at his hotel in Colombo when he was killed by one of the coordinated explosions. He was scheduled to spend a week in the Sri Lankan capital to solve technical problems with local engineers, with whom he had made friends during a previous mission, added Fallon.
"The colleagues who knew Dieter well evoke someone whose presence was very pleasant, with a big heart and full of liveliness," he said. According to him, the technician could solve "in joy, happiness and with kindness" the "worst" problems. "We are angry because a good man, who just enjoyed solving problems, was killed, along with many others, by evil people who can not do anything but destroy," he said. insisted.
A victim of about ten years
A private school in Washington, Sidwell Friends, also reported that one of his 10-year-old students in CM2 was among those killed in the attacks. Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, still enrolled in school, had been in Sri Lanka for some time, the headmaster wrote in a letter to the parents, without specifying the student's nationality.