Deaths of 3 more Indians confirmed in Sri Lanka blasts; toll now stands at 8

On Monday evening, another blast took place in Colombo, as a bomb went off near Colombo Church while bomb squad was trying to defuse it. No casualty has been reported in this incident so far.

People pray outside the St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo on April 22, 2019, a day after the building was hit as part of a series of bomb blasts targeting churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. - The death toll from bomb blasts that ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka rose dramatically April 22 to 290 -- including dozens of foreigners -- as police announced new arrests over the country's worst attacks for more than a decade. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP)

New Delhi: The number of Indians killed in a string of eight powerful blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday escalated to eight by Monday night, as the Indian High Commission there confirmed the death of three more individuals. The names of the three deceased Indian nationals are Vemurai Tulsiram , S R Nagaraj and  H Shivakumar The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted to confirm the identity of two deceased people at first: “ We regret to confirm the deaths of two more individuals in the blasts yesterday: - Vemurai Tulsiram - S R Nagaraj.” It later informed that another death has been confirmed by the Sri Lankan foreign ministry: "Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry has confirmed the death of one more individual - H Shivakumar - in the blasts yesterday, taking the total number of Indian deaths in the tragedy to 8 till now." The serial blasts, including suicide attacks, struck three churches and luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. The Indian high commission has so far confirmed the deaths of the following Indian nationals: H Shivakumar,  Vemurai Tulsiram, S R Nagaraj, K G Hanumantharayappa, M Rangappa, Lakshmi, , Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh.

We regret to confirm the deaths of two more individuals in the blasts yesterday: - Vemurai Tulsiram - S R Nagaraj@SushmaSwaraj

— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) April 22, 2019

Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry has confirmed the death of one more individual - H Shivakumar - in the blasts yesterday, taking the total number of Indian deaths in the tragedy to 8 till now.@SushmaSwaraj

— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) April 22, 2019

The blasts targeted St Anthony's Church in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 a.m. (local time) as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress. Three explosions were reported from the five-star hotels - the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury. Foreigners and locals who were injured in hotel blasts were admitted to the Colombo General Hospital. Around 500 people, including Indians, were injured in the blasts - one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history. No group has claimed responsibility so far of the attack, however a local outfit identified as the National Tawheed Jamath is suspected of plotting the blasts, a top Sri Lankan minister said on Monday. On Monday evening, another blast took place in Colombo, as a bomb went off near Colombo Church while bomb squad was trying to defuse it. No casualty has been reported in this incident so far. The Sri Lankan police has found as many as 87 bomb detonators at the main bus station in the capital city of Colombo.