Victims from around the world. Sunday's death toll in Sri Lanka has risen to 310 on Tuesday after several wounded have died, local police said. A previous human toll was 290 dead. The number of wounded remains around 500. Among the foreign nationalities affected, India pays the heaviest tribute with eight citizens killed, followed by Britain with at least five victims.
China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have two victims each, compared with France, Bangladesh, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. Four additional victims were US nationals and two more Australian and Sri Lankan passports, according to the list provided by Sri Lanka. At least 39 foreigners have been identified as killed, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
A Frenchman among the victims
The Sri Lankan authorities announced Monday the death of a Frenchman in the attacks, but this information has not yet been confirmed by the Quai d'Orsay.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, opened a crisis unit, available from 01 43 17 51 00 from France, and 00 94 11 26 39 442 from Sri Lanka. France Diplomatie invites travelers "to respect the instructions of local authorities and [to be] cooperative during security checks".
#SriLanka France condemns in the strongest way the terrible attacks perpetrated this Sunday, April 21 in Sri Lanka against churches and hotels.
The @CdCMAE has opened a crisis cell at (+33) 1 43 17 51 00. pic.twitter.com/IXAQ2qO2ec
>> READ ALSO - For Sri Lankans living in France, the worry goes up: "I have not managed to join my family"
British families bereaved
"We can confirm that British nationals are among those who were killed in the horrible attacks perpetrated today in Sri Lanka," a Foreign Office spokesman said in an email. At least five Britons have been killed in these attacks, a government source said Monday, when the British press reported Tuesday morning eight dead.
The Guardian reports on the death of a Singapore-based mother and two children killed at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, the suicide bomber blew himself up in the queue for the breakfast buffet. lunch. Two teenagers, a brother and a sister aged 19 and 15, survived the blast before succumbing to their injuries later in the hospital, reports the Daily Mail , citing their brother's testimony. survivor.
A couple originally from Manchester, but based in Perth, Australia, was reportedly killed in the attack on the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, according to The Guardian .
At least four Americans killed
At least four Americans have been killed in these attacks, and several others "seriously injured," said Monday an official of the US State Department. If the US authorities refused to provide more information about the victims, "out of respect for the private life" of their relatives, the employer of one of them nevertheless paid tribute to him.
Dieter Kowalski, described as a "big-hearted" technician, was on a working assignment in Sri Lanka for the British educational services company Pearson, when he was killed on Sunday. "I love these work journeys - 24 hours flying - see you soon in Sri Lanka!", The 40-year-old man from Wisconsin, in the northern United States, wrote on Facebook. 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.
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.
Three children of the biggest Danish fortune killed in the attacks
Three of the four children of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, owner of the ready-to-wear group Bestseller and largest shareholder of the online brand ASOS, were killed in the wave of attacks, said Monday a spokesman for the group. According to the Danish media, Anders Holch Povlsen was on vacation in Sri Lanka with his wife Anne and their four children at the time of the attacks.
No indication was given on the age of the victims. Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, inherited the ready-to-wear group Bestseller, founded in 1975 by his parents, Merete and Troels Holch Povlsen. The group, which boasts nearly 3,000 points of sale in 70 countries, has brands like Vero Moda, Only and Jack & Jones. Anders Holch Povlsen is also the majority shareholder of the UK online fashion brand ASOS and owns shares in Zalando, a German online retailer.
Victims among hotel staff and law enforcement
In Colombo, three beachfront luxury hotels and a church were hit by the attacks. Hotel Le Shangri-La reported on Facebook that three of its employees died in the attack, a Japanese mother who was at the property with her husband and son was also killed, according to the state television Japanese. Chef Shanta Mayadunne and her daughter were also killed, according to a message posted by her family on social networks.
An employee of the Cinnamon Grand, quoted by the BBC, reports four victims in the explosion that affected the restaurant of this hotel.
In Negombo, a town north of the capital, close to the airport and the point of departure of many travelers, 67 people were killed in San Sebastián Church and 25 in a church in Batticaloa, a town in east of the island, according to the same source. Two more explosions occurred in the suburbs of Dehiwala, where at least two people died in an explosion in a fourth hotel, and Orugodawatta, where a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing three police officers during a search operation in a police station. house, according to the police.
Sri Lanka had not experienced such an episode of violence since the end of the civil war ten years ago. And never the Christian minority of the island, which represents 7% of the population of 21 million Sri Lankans, had been the target of such carnage.