The vast majority of the victims were Sri Lankan, many from the island nation’s Christian minority. Their names and other details of their lives were slow to trickle in and difficult to report, in part because authorities blocked most social media after the blasts.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara on Tuesday said the death toll from Sunday’s attacks rose to 310.
President Maithripala Sirisena has declared a day of mourning for Tuesday, a day after officials disclosed that warnings had been received weeks ago of the possibility of an attack by the radical Muslim group blamed for the bloodshed.
But among them was Dileep Roshan, 37, a carpenter who left behind a wife and daughter, his family told .
“His wife and daughter won’t be able to do much now because he is gone,” said his older brother, Sanjeevani Roshan. “The real question is what will happen to their future.”
The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said at least 110 people were killed at St. Sebastian’s Church, located in a seaside fishing town at the center of Sri Lanka’s small Catholic community.
The town, Negombo, is called “Little Rome” for its abundance of churches. On Monday, house after house near St. Sebastian’s flew small white flags a sign that someone who lived there had died.
At Colombo’s Shangri-La Hotel on Sunday, Nisanga Mayadunne posted a selfie on Facebook showing her and her relatives around a table, eating eggs and sausages. “Easter breakfast with the family,” she wrote with a smiley-face emoji.
Moments later, she and her mother, Shantha Mayadunne, were killed in an explosion at the luxury hotel. Shantha was an acclaimed chef who hosted live cooking programs on Sri Lankan television.
“No words can describe the pain,” Manik Mayadunne, Nisanga’s cousin, wrote on his Facebook page Monday. “They were the most loving family anyone could ask for and I will always be grateful for having them in my life.”
The hotel said in a statement Monday that three Shangri-La employees died while at work.
United kingdom
Sri Lanka’s top diplomat in Britain says authorities know of eight British nationals killed in the bombings.
Among them were lawyer Anita Nicholson, son Alex Nicholson and daughter Annabel Nicholson, her husband, Ben Nicholson, confirmed in a statement. Nicholson said the family was on vacation, sitting in a restaurant at the Shangri-la Hotel when they were killed. He said, “The holiday we had just enjoyed was a testament to Anita’s enjoyment of travel and providing a rich and colorful life for our family, and especially our children.”
Former firefighter Bill Harrop and doctor Sally Bradley, a British couple who lived in Australia, were killed in one of the hotels, a family statement to The Australian newspaper said.
India
The Indian Embassy in Colombo said Tuesday that 10 Indian nationals died in the blasts.
“I am deeply shocked at the loss of our JDS party workers , whom I know personally,” he wrote Monday on Twitter. “We stand with their families in this hour of grief.”
United States
The State Department says at least four Americans were killed and several others seriously injured. It gave no details about the victims’ identities.
Fifth-grader Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, spending a year in Sri Lanka on leave from the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., was among those killed, the school said in an email to parents, according to the Washington Post. The email said, “Kieran was passionate about learning, he adored his friends, and he was incredibly excited about returning to Sidwell Friends this coming school year.”
Dieter Kowalski, who lived in Denver and worked for international education company Pearson, died in the blasts shortly after he arrived at his hotel for a business trip, the company and his family told the AP. A Friday Facebook post reads- “And the fun begins. Love these work trips. 24 hours of flying. See you soon Sri Lanka!”
Denmark
The Bestseller clothing chain confirmed Danish media reports that three of the children of its owner, business tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, were killed in the attacks. However, spokesman Jesper Stubkier gave no details in an emailed response to a query on the matter and said the company had no further comment.
Switzerland
The Foreign Ministry says a Swiss national, a Swiss dual national and a non-Swiss member of the same family were killed. It didn’t identify the second country or give other details on the victims.
Spain
Spain’s Foreign Ministry says a Spanish man and woman were killed but didn’t provide further details. The mayor of Pontecesures in northwest Spain, Juan Manuel Vidal, told Radio Galega that he knew the local pair and says they were in their 30s, according to a report by Spanish private news agency Europa Press.
Australia
Australia’s Prime Minister says a mother and daughter from that country were killed. Manik Suriaaratchi and her 10-year-old daughter, Alexendria, were attending a church service in Negombo when they died.
China
State media say two Chinese died in the blasts.
Victims from other nations include The Netherlands, Japan and Portugal.
