Two Australians among 290 dead
AN Australian woman and her nine-year-old daughter, murdered as they celebrated Easter Sunday mass, are among the 290 dead in Sri Lanka’s horrific church and hotel bombings.
Manik and Alexandria Suriaaratchi, of Melbourne, were among more than 100 worshippers killed when a suicide bomber blew up St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo.
The blast was so powerful it destroyed much of the building’s roof, leaving shattered tiles among the casualties slumped across the floor.
Bleeding parishioners scrambled to carry severely injured people from the church, which was littered with overturned chairs, shattered glass and debris that had fallen from the ceiling.
Ms Suriaaratchi was of Sri Lankan heritage and was a regular visitor to the country.
She was the founder and managing director of Omega Global, a business management company with offices in Melbourne and Colombo that helped international brands in new markets.
Tributes began pouring in from Australia for the mother and daughter as friends learned of the tragedy.
“RIP Akki Manik Suriaaratchi and angel Alexandria. You will never be forgotten and will be always in our hearts,” Lucien Pereira posted on Facebook.
Suranga Tennakoon also posted: “We lost another most valuable asset to Hospitality Industry, she is Manik Suriaaratchi. My deepest sympathies! So sorry to hear of your loss.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was grieving.
“Right now, Sri Lanka is grieving. Australia is grieving,” he said. “Two Australians have lost their lives in this terrible massacre. My heart is full of grief for them and their families. I’m sure all Australians are.”
He said two Australian women were among the 500 injured in the coordinated attacks and were in a stable condition.
“One was treated for shrapnel wounds and the other was treated for a broken leg.”
He could not rule out more Australians being injured or killed.
“As the days pass and the injured are treated and some of them succumb to their wounds as well, we are seeing this massacre go from what was bad, very bad, to much, much worse.”
Sydney restaurant owner Manjula Fernando, who knew Ms Suriaaratchi, said he was reeling at the news.
“My hometown is about 10km away from Negombo church where one of the blasts happened and my niece had been to a midnight mass … she avoided being hurt in any attack,” Mr Fernando said.
Another friend of Mr Fernando’s, who works at the Grand Cinnamon Hotel where a suicide bomber queued up for the breakfast buffet before the attack, has been left feeling “terrible” after six coworkers lost their lives.
“He only managed to survive because the attack happened in the morning and he dropped his daughter off at school before his evening shift,” Mr Fernando said.
MY HEART IS FULL OF GRIEF FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES. I’M SURE ALL AUSTRALIANS ARE