An Australian father has described the heartbreaking moment he found his wife and daughter who were killed in the Sri Lankan terror attacks.
Sudesh Kolonne had briefly left the church after a service when a bomb went off, claiming Manik Suriyaaratchi and their 10-year-old daughter, Alexendria.
“There was a bomb blast, I heard a huge noise and I jump into the church and I saw that my daughter and my wife was on the floor,” he told ABC in Colombo.
“I don’t know what to do. And I was … Just saw my daughter on the floor and I tried to lift her up, she’s already dead, exactly the same next my wife is dead. That’s the end of the story of — end of the story of my daughter, my wife.”
In a separate interview, Mr Kolonne expressed his anger at those behind the attacks.
“These people are really sick, I think. I mean, how would you do that?” he told Nine.
“Killing innocent people — they’re in their church. I mean, come on, any human can’t do that right.
“At the end of the day, my wife is gone. My daughter’s gone.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the identity of Manik Suriaaratchi and Alexendria on Tuesday.
The family were attending an Easter Sunday service in Negombo when they died in the attacks, which have claimed at least 310 lives.
Mr Morrison spoke to Mr Kolonne on Tuesday afternoon to offer support and sympathy.
“It is just the most sickening of news,” the prime minister earlier told Seven’s Sunrise.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like for him to lose a little 10-year-old girl, to lose his wife Manik. His whole world has been rocked by these events. We just have to reach out and hold them and hold each other as Australians.”
Alexendria was born in Melbourne and the family lived in the city’s southeast, but had returned to Sri Lanka in recent years.
Mr Morrison has also been in touch with his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe, who expressed his thanks and appreciation for Australia’s deep concern and solidarity.
He said there was still no evidence of who was responsible for the blasts which targeted hotels and churches on Easter Sunday.
“This is just such horrible news,” he told Sky News.
Two Australians — both of whom were dual citizens — were also injured but are in a stable condition, with one treated for shrapnel wounds and the other a broken leg.
Mr Morrison said the pair would receive consular support but he had no information about other Australians hurt.
More than 500 people were injured in the bomb blasts that ripped through three churches, three luxury hotels and a guesthouse on Easter Sunday.
Labor leader Bill Shorten has described the attacks as devastating.
“Easter Sunday’s senseless and barbaric murder of hundreds of citizens, including two Australians and 500 injured, is something we should all mourn and we do,” he told reporters in Townsville.
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