No reports of Filipino casualties in Sri Lanka blasts — DFA

Department of Foreign Affairs. (Photo from the DFA Facebook account)

MANILA, Philippines — There has been no report of any Filipino hurt following a series of explosions in churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Sunday.

The DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka was in continuous coordination with the authorities in Sri Lanka to check on the state of Filipinos living in the area of the explosion.

“Ambassador to Bangladesh Vicente Vivencio C. Bandillo said that the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka contacted Philippine Honorary Consul to Colombo Hugh Sriyal Dissanayake, who informed them that they are in touch with the Filipino community in the area,” the DFA said in a statement. “The community leaders reported that so far, there has been no report of any Filipino hurt in the explosions.”

The DFA said its personnel were ready to provide assistance as they continued to monitor the situation in the area.

It also expressed its condolences to the families of the victims of the explosions.

The blasts, which killed nearly 160 people, ripped through hotels and churches and is now deemed as the worst act of violence since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war.

At the time of the explosion, churches were busy with services in celebration of Easter Sunday.

READ: Blasts at Sri Lanka hotels and churches kill nearly 160

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