Four oceanic scientists were among the six Chinese nationals killed during the Easter Sunday bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said.
The deceased included 38-year-old Li Jian and 35-year-old Pan Wenliang; senior engineers at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SCSIO).
Two others, Li Dawei, 30, and Wang Liwei, 26, were from the First Institute of Oceanography under the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Global Times reported on Wednesday.Li, along with four other scientists, arrived at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo on April 18 and 19, respectively. They were supposed to participate in a joint scientific cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, the SCSIO said.
The embassy said that another five people from the Chinese Academy of Sciences were injured during the explosions. All of them have returned to China for further treatment, the China Daily reported. They had traveled to Sri Lanka in mid-April for research purposes, it said.
The series of coordinated attacks that ripped through three churches and luxury hotels claimed 253 lives and injured over 500 others.
The Lankan foreign ministry has confirmed the death of 42 foreign nationals, including 11 Indians, in the blasts.
A total of 106 suspects, including a Tamil-medium teacher and a school principal, have been arrested in connection with the attacks.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the government has blamed the local Islamist extremist group known as the National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks. -Agencies
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