Two more Indians among those killed in Sri Lanka blasts
Two more Indians have been declared dead in the serial blasts that hit Sri Lanka on Sunday, the High Commission of India in Colombo, Sri Lanka confirmed.
The deceased were identified as Vemurai Tulsiram and SR Nagaraj. The latter is a businessman from Bengaluru who was staying at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo.
We regret to confirm the deaths of two more individuals in the blasts yesterday:
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) April 22, 2019
- Vemurai Tulsiram
- S R Nagaraj@SushmaSwaraj
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy stated that five of the seven-member group of JD(S) workers who travelled to Sri Lanka have died in the blasts.
After two workers - KG Hanumantharayappa and M Rangappa - were confirmed dead in the early hours of Monday morning by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy stated that Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh, K M Lakshminarayan and an unidentified person from the group were also confirmed dead.
I am deeply pained at the loss of our people in the #colombo attacks. Out of the seven missing after the #TerrorAttack, four have been declared dead. Their names are
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) April 22, 2019
- Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh
- K M Lakshminarayan
- M Rangappa
- KG Hanumantharayappa
The Chief Secretary has spoken to High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka. One group from Karnataka is returning from Kandy. They will help to identify the fifth body. The @IndiainSL will provide information on the other two missing persons as soon as it is received, the CS said.
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) April 22, 2019
The Chief Minister had earlier stated that three other JD(S) workers - H Shivu Kumar, A Maregowda and H Puttaraju - were missing and officials had not been able to establish communication with them.
The three others who are missing are H ShivuKumar,A Maregowda and H Puttaraju. The Chief Secretary’s office is in constant touch with the Resident Commissioner at Karnataka Bhavan, New Delhi, and the families of the victims and the missing persons for further information on them
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) April 22, 2019
The families of Hanumantharayappa and M Rangappa were informed at around 2 am on Monday morning. The seven-member group were touring Sri Lanka and were staying in the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, one of the eight places attacked on Sunday.
Kerala government has stated that a sixth person, hailing from Kerala, has also died in the blasts. The same has not yet been confirmed by the Indian government.
The blasts triggered in 8 locations in the country on Easter Sunday has taken the lives of more than 290 people. A vast majority of the people who have lost their lives are Sri Lankan nationals. Officials are still in the process of identifying bodies at the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer’s mortuary.