In Photos: Eight Blasts Rock Sri Lanka, Leave Nation Devastated

The Sri Lankan government has imposed curfew with immediate effect after the multiple blasts.

Over 200 people were killed and hundreds more hospitalised from injuries in eight blasts that rocked some churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

More than 200 people were killed and hundreds more hospitalised from injuries in eight blasts that rocked some churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

According to Reuters, the Sri Lanka government has imposed curfew with immediate effect and it is unclear when it will be lifted.

According to reports, explosions hit three churches and a hotel in Sri Lanka during Easter mass on Sunday, 21 April.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

The death toll in the Sri Lanka blasts targeting churches and hotels has risen to 190, AP quoted the country’s deputy transport minister as saying.

Relatives of people killed in church blasts mourn as they wait outside the mortuary of a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Sunday, 21 April.(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

At least 35 foreigners are said to be among those who died in the blasts for which no group has claimed responsibility so far.

Relatives gather outside a hospital following the blasts in Colombo.(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

A relative of a blast victim grieves outside a morgue in Colombo(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

While three high-end hotels and one church were earlier targeted in the capital Colombo, two other churches were attacked in Negombo and Batticaloa.

Sri Lankan Army soldiers secure the area around St. Anthony’s Shrine after a blast in Colombo.(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

The blasts occurred around 8:45 am (local time) as the Easter Sunday masses were in progress. This is the greatest act of violence in Sri Lanka since its civil war ended a decade ago.

People gather outside St Anthony’s Shrine where a blast happened, in Colombo.(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

The Sri Lankan police chief had warned of possible suicide attacks before the Sunday blasts took place, AFP reported, citing a document.

Sri Lankan Army soldiers secure the area around St Anthony’s Shrine after a blast in Colombo.(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

According to the police, three churches – 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 – were targeted.

Sri Lankan firefighters stand in the area around St Anthony’s Shrine after a blast in Colombo.(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

The hotels targeted in Colombo include the Shangrila, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury.

Police and forensic officials inspect a blast spot at the Shangri-la hotel in Colombo.(Photo: AP/Eranga Jayawardena)