MERCIFULLY, THEY DIED IN AN INSTANT
Heartbreak of father whose wife, son and daughter were killed as they ate breakfast
A GRIEVING father has told of his comfort at knowing his wife and their two children ‘died instantly and with no pain or suffering’.
Ben Nicholson, 43, lost Anita, 42, and son and daughter Alex, 14, and Annabel, 11, when two suicide bombers struck at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.
The family had been sitting down to breakfast at the Table One cafe when one terrorist detonated his bomb, followed by the other – in a cruelly calculated plot to kill those fleeing the horror or rushing to help victims.
In the ensuing chaos, it was unclear who had been injured and taken to hospital and who had been killed.
Despite being injured, Mr Nicholson did not stop to clean himself up but walked the streets of Colombo covered in blood, scouring hospital wards and morgues desperately seeking news of his family.
It had been believed that Alex may have survived but, eventually, Mr Nicholson discovered that his wife and both children had died.
In a statement, he confirmed that his family had died in the bombing on Sunday morning. He said: ‘Mercifully, all three of them died instantly and with no pain or suffering.’
The heartbroken father went on to say: ‘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.’
Of his boy and girl, he said: ‘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.
‘ They shared with their mother the priceless ability to light up any room they entered and bring joy to the lives of all they came into contact with.’
Mr Nicholson, a partner at law firm Kennedys Legal Solutions, had been working and living with his family in Singapore for some years. The Lanka Mr family Nicholson for a holiday. had grew been in up Sri in Grays, Essex, with his father Edward and mother Brenda before studying law at Kent University, where he was captain of the squash club.
He went on to gain a further legal qualification at Nottingham University, specialising in international commercial insurance, including ‘natural catastrophes’ and has worked on cases across the globe.
His wife is believed to have grown up in Gravesend, Kent, before studying law at Leeds University.
After graduating, Mrs Nicholson worked for the Treasury, rising to become a senior lawyer advising on national and EU legislation. More recently, she had been working as an expert on international regulatory law in Singapore for mining and metals company Anglo American.
His son and daughter were keen followers of the British Lions rugby team.
Mr Nicholson thanked people for their support, saying: ‘I would like to give my sincere thanks for the medical teams at General Hospital, Colombo, for treating Anita, Alex and Annabel with great dignity and me with kindness and sympathy. I would also like to thank the teams at the British High Commission and Adhvan Tours who have looked after me since Sunday morning, and the Sri Lankan people I have encountered in Colombo following this catastrophe.’
He added: ‘Anita, Alex and Annabel leave behind a large extended family and many close and cherished friends who are now grieving this tragic loss. We shall all miss them dearly.
‘We are all grateful for the many expressions of support and good wishes.
‘We would ask that the media now respect our privacy and allow us to grieve together.’
‘They died instantly ...with no suffering’