The blasts, reported to have occurred at churches in Kochchikade, Negombo and Batticaloa, targeted worshippers as they attended Easter services. Additional blasts ripped through three hotels, The Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury Hotel, all in the capital, Colombo, according to state broadcaster SLRC.
Bodies of the dead have been received at Colombo National Hospital, according to hospital sources. Most of those injured were also taken there, hospital officials said.
There have been “many casualties including foreigners,” tweeted Sri Lankan MP Harsha de Silva.
Sri Lanka explosions: 137 killed as churches and hotels targeted
At least 137 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, police and hospital sources say.
At least six explosions have been reported. Three churches in Kochchikade, Negombo and Batticaloa were targeted during Easter services.
The Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels, all in Colombo, were also hit.
Easter Sunday is one of the major feasts in the Christian calendar.
Images on social media showed the inside of one of the churches – St Sebastian’s in Negombo – with a shattered ceiling and blood on the pews.