Two Bangladeshi tourists unaccounted for in Sri Lanka: State Minister Shahriar Alam

Two Bangladeshi tourists, including a child, are ‘unaccounted for’ after the deadly blasts in multiple churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam has said.

Briefing the media in Dhaka on Sunday, Shahriar said, “Two Bangladeshis are unaccounted for. Their other family members are accounted for. We are monitoring the situation. We will inform the family as soon as they are traced.”

The state minister did not divulge the names of the missing.

He said that the authorities are inquiring after them in hotels and hospitals in Colombo.

Responding to a question, Shahriar said, a group of four Bangladeshis went to Colombo as tourists.

But while two members of the touring party are safe, the other two other, including a child, could not be traced.

On Sunday, bombs exploded within the space of 15 minutes from 8:30 am to 8:45 am in three churches - St Anthony's Church in Kochcikade, St Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya and a church in Batticaloa - during the special prayers on Easter Day.  

Three five star hotels - the Shangri-La Colombo, Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo and the Cinnamon Grand Colombo – were also hit by explosions.

At least 138 people were killed and more than 400 others injured in the incidents, reports Reuters.

A number of the reported casualties are foreign nationals, according to news reports.