Embassy confirms death of 2nd Chinese
Print Edition
THE Chinese embassy in Colombo yesterday confirmed the death of a missing Chinese national following the multiple bombings in Sri Lanka. The confirmation takes the number of Chinese killed in the attacks to two while four others are feared dead.
Late yesterday, Sri Lanka revised down the death toll from Sunday’s blasts by more than 100, from 359 to “about 253,” the health ministry said yesterday. It has blamed a calculation error.
The Chinese embassy said that it had cooperated with the Sri Lankan side and the family members to identify the Chinese victim.
On Wednesday, the Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said that one Chinese national was confirmed dead, four others, declared missing earlier, were feared dead pending further confirmation while one was still missing.
The ambassador also said five Chinese nationals were injured during the attacks, four of whom were already back to China. One, however, is still in hospital.
Sri Lanka’s Catholic church suspended all public services over security fears yesterday, as thousands of troops joined the hunt for suspects. Authorities made fresh arrests and stepped up security measures as the government faced pressure over its failure to act on Indian intelligence warnings before the suicide bombers blew themselves up in luxury hotels and churches packed with Easter Sunday worshippers.
A Catholic priest said all public services were being suspended and all churches closed “on the advice of security forces.” Private burials will still be carried out.
Security forces using state of emergency powers arrested 16 more suspects overnight, bringing the total in custody to 74 since the attacks. Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said the army had increased its deployment on the streets from 5,000 to 6,300, with the navy and air force also deploying an additional 2,000 personnel.
But in a bid to win over tourists scared off by the attacks, it has suspended the need for visas for 39 countries, including European Union nations, Australia and the United States, for six months from May 1.
President Maithripala Sirisena met political and religious figures to discuss the crisis, amid concerns about a potential backlash against Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority.
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