Spain sends condolences for Sri Lanka attack victims as death toll climbs to 290

SPANISH government officials have sent their condolences to the victims of a terror attack on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he strongly condemned the attacks, which killed at least 290 people and injured at least 500 in several bombings at churches and hotels.

“Dozens of victims who were celebrating the Passover of Resurrection give us cause to mourn. We will never bend to terror and barbarism,” Sanchez said.

Mi más enérgica condena a los terribles atentados de Sri Lanka. Decenas de víctimas que celebraban la Pascua de Resurrección nos hacen llorar. El terror y la barbarie no nos doblegarán nunca.
Mi apoyo y cariño a todas las víctimas y familiares.https://t.co/jjwZ1WILy6

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 21, 2019

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings. Sri Lankan Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said religious extremists were behind the attacks and others have claimed they were Islamic fundamentalists.

The Spanish Embassy in neighbouring India advised its citizens to take ‘extreme precautions’ following the attack and advised them to follow the instructions of local authorities.

Three churches and three five-star hotels were bombed on Easter Sunday. The hotels and one of the churches, St Anthony’s Shrine, were in the capital Colombo and the other two were in Negombo.

At least eight British nationals were among those who died. Three of the children of the founder of the Asos online clothes seller Anders Holch Povlsen were also among the dead.

The bombings marked the bloodiest days for Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009.