Sri lanka explosion: who are the victims of easter massacre?

At least seven hotels and churches were targeted during Easter Sunday services in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. Most of the people who died were Sri Lankan nationals,

officials confirmed. But at least 32 people were from other countries including the UK, India, Denmark, China and Turkey.  One of the first victims to be identified was Sri Lankan celebrity

chef Shantha Mayadunne, along with her daughter Nisanga Mayadunne. Just before the explosion occurred, Nisanga had posted a picture of the family eating breakfast in the Shangri-La hotel in

Colombo.  A family member later posted on Facebook saying “no words can describe the pain”.  Four Sri Lankan staff members at the Taprobane restaurant in the Cinnamon Grand hotel also died

in the attacks.  A hotel spokesperson said to the BBC: “It was a busy morning. It’s Sunday morning during buffet breakfast so it’s one of our busiest periods. “There were servers at the

restaurant. One of them was working at the live food stations making hoppers (a Sri Lankan pancake).” Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who is the largest stakeholder in the online

retailer ASOS, was among the grieving as three of his children died in the attacks.  At least eight British nationals were also killed, the UK’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, James Dauris,

said.  Ben Nicholson said his wife Anita, his 14-year-old son Alex and 11-year-old daughter Annabel died in the restaurant of the Shangri-La Hotel. He said in a statement: ”Mercifully, all

three of them died instantly and with no pain or suffering. ”I am deeply distressed at the loss of my wife and children. Anita was a wonderful, perfect wife and a brilliant, loving and

inspirational mother to our two wonderful children. "The holiday we had just enjoyed was a testament to Anita's enjoyment of travel and providing a rich and colourful life for our

family, and especially our children. "Alex and Annabel were the most amazing, intelligent, talented and thoughtful children and Anita and I were immensely proud of them both and looking

forward to seeing them develop into adulthood." Mr Nicholson also asked the media to "respect our privacy and allow us to grieve together". Five Indian nationals who were

said to be members of the Janata Dal Party (JDP), were killed while on holiday in Sri Lanka after polling for the Lok Sabha elections.  The grandson of Bangladeshi MP Sheikh Fazlul Karim

Selim was also killed in the attacks. Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, a fifth grade student at the Sidwell Friends school in Washington, was one of four Americans killed. The school said in a

letter to families: "Kieran was passionate about learning, he adored his friends, and he was incredibly excited about returning to Sidwell Friends this coming school year.”