'There's no words': Winnipeg's Sri Lankan community gathers after bombings

Members of Winnipeg's Sri Lankan community gathered Sunday to pray for the victims of Sunday morning's deadly bomb attacks that left more than 200 people dead in Sri Lanka.

Roughly 50 people came to aBuddhist ceremony acknowledging those who have departed called a puja, held at the Manitoba Buddhist Vihara and Cultural Association.

"We wanted to have special prayers and a special message that we want to send to the community that we care for the devastation that took place in Sri Lanka," said association president Upul Herath.

"We felt it was an obligation to make sure we have our own community get together."

At last count Sunday evening 207 were dead and hundreds of others were injured in the near simultaneous and co-ordinated bombings at churches and luxury hotels in the South Asian island country.

Three of the blasts targeted St. Anthony's Church in Colombo, St. Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another, the Zion church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 a.m. local time as the Easter Sunday mass was in progress, according to police.

Three other explosions were reported from the five-star hotels the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury in Colombo. Foreigners and locals who were injured in hotel blasts were admitted to the Colombo General Hospital.

Those killed included 32 foreigners, government officials said.

Hours later, two more blasts occurred as police moved to Dematagoda on the outskirts of Colombo and occupants of a house apparently set off explosives to prevent being arrested.

Thirteenpeople have been arrested.

"When I heard the devastation and I knew that there were so many people affected, there's no words to describe how devastating this can be," said Herath before the ceremony started in Winnipeg Sunday.

"You never imagine something like this, yet, when things like this happen, we need to act quickly and do what we need to do."

Carnage in Sri Lanka

6 years ago

Duration 0:40

Sri Lanka reels from a series of co-ordinated bomb attacks on several churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday.

Herath said no members of Winnipeg's close-knit Sri Lankan community that he hasspoken tohave friends or family directly affected by the attacks.

But he said the community felt the need to gather in prayer.

"We all unite together when we have to combat something like this," he said.

"We certainly have a united front."

In a tweet Sunday, Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman said he was deeply saddened by the attacks.

"On this day of renewal, Winnipeggers thoughts and prayers are with all those affected in Sri Lanka, in our community and around the world," he said.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in a country which was at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009, a time when bomb blasts in the capital were common.

More from CBC Manitoba: