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Headlines

5 Indians among 290 dead in Sri Lanka bombings

Colombo, April 22

Five Indians are among the 290 people who have been confirmed dead in the deadly Easter Sunday suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, as police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera on Monday confirmed that 24 suspects have been arrested for their involvement in the island's bloodiest attacks in a decade.

On Monday morning, the Indian High Commission in Colombo confirmed the names of two more Indian victims.

"We sadly confirm the deaths of the following two individuals in the blasts yesterday: K.G. Hanumantharayappa, M. Rangappa," the Mission said in a tweet.

The Monday morning tweet came after Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday night had confirmed the names of three other Indian nationals -- Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh.

Meanwhile, Gunasekera also said that 500 people were injured and were admitted in various hospitals and medical facilities.

He said that the police has seized a van and its driver who is suspected of transporting the suspects into Colombo and also raided a safe house used by the attackers. 

No group has yet claimed direct responsibility yet.

The first of the eight blasts took place on Sunday morning in three luxury hotels -- Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-la, Kingsbury -- in the heart of Colombo and in a church each in Colombo, Negombo, 30 km from here, and in the Tamil-majority Batticaloa town in the island's east that was once a Tamil Tiger stronghold.

Later in the afternoon, another blast hit a guest house near the zoo in Dehiwala in Colombo, killing two persons, and a housing complex at Dematogoda in the city leaving three policemen dead.