Sri Lanka attacks: Brit dad forced to make agonising choice over which of his two kids to save – before both were tragically killed in blast
A BRITISH dad was forced to make a heartbreaking decision to choose one of his two dying teenage children to rescue following a suicide terror attack in Sri Lanka.
Daniel, 19, and Amelie Linsey, 15, were staying at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo with their father Matthew when they were killed by a bomb blast on Easter Sunday.
Matthew last night told of the desperate decision he faced over which of his injured children to save after they were caught in the bomb attacks.
Speaking to , he said he believed that Amelie had sustained less serious injuries than Daniel so he chose to carry his son downstairs leaving his daughter with other survivors.
He tried to revive Daniel before taking him to a hospital, where an attempted heart massage failed to save his life.
Mr Linsey later found out that his daughter had also died.
He said: “You can’t describe how bad it was. People were screaming. I was with my children. I couldn’t tell whether they were all right, it was dark.
“We both went to where the lifts were and I couldn’t move them, they were both knocked out. My son looked worse than my daughter. I tried to revive him.
"A lady said she’d take my daughter. I carried my son downstairs to an ambulance, we took him to the hospital.
I thought my daughter was better off. I couldn’t find her because I was with my son. They sadly passed away
"I yelled, ‘Please help my son, please help, please help.’ I thought my daughter was better off. I couldn’t find her because I was with my son. They sadly passed away.”
Millionaire hedge fund manager Matthew, 61, miraculously survived, suffering cuts to his face. He was back at home in Kensington, West London on Monday.
Their elder brother David, 21, also spoke about the tragedy, saying: “They were in a breakfast restaurant on the third floor when there was the first explosion.
“They tried to run away and out of the hotel. Then there was a second explosion.
"My brother and sister were ahead and dad about a metre behind. When the second one went off they were caught in the blast.”
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
- At least 321 people killed and 500 injured after seven suicide bombers attacked three churches, four hotels and a block of flats in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Eight Brits, 'several' Americans, one Dutch, one Chinese, two Turkish, three Danes and one Portuguese national have been confirmed dead
- Social media ban in place to prevent spread of misinformation, and night curfew imposed
- 40 terror suspects have been arrested
- Sri Lankan government names local Islamic terror group National Thowheeth Jama'ath as being responsible for the attacks, reportedly inspired by ISIS
David added: “Daniel and Amelie were the most loving people.
“My sister held the whole family together. My brother was the nicest person you could imagine.
“I can’t describe just how devastating it is. No one ever thinks this could happen.
“My dad hasn’t said much. Only that they were caught up in the second blast.
"They took both my sister and brother to hospital but they couldn’t do anything.
“I think they were both dead before they got there.
“We already miss them so much. My dad seems physically OK but really shocked.
“He’s trying to help my mum and younger brother.”
The Linseys are one of three British families who have been brutally ripped apart by the horrific bomb attacks.
FAMILIES RIPPED APART
Daniel and Amelie died just yards from fellow Brits Annabel Nicholson, 11, brother Alex, 14, and mum Anita, 42.
UK firefighter Billy Harrop, 56, and his partner Sally were also killed along with more than 300 other innocents after a string of attacks on churches and hotels in Colombo on Easter Sunday.
Sri Lanka has today announced a national day of mourning after the terrifying attacks saw eight bombs detonated at hotels and churches, killing at least 321- including eight Brits - and injuring more than 500.
It comes after it was revealed how another Brit dad "wandered alone" through Colombo morgues as the blood-soaked lawyer tried to find his wife and children before discovering they had died instantly.
"He spoke to me twice, asking about his family. He had blood all over him but he was not injured, apart from a small cut to his ear.
"He was not running or crying, he was shocked. We wondered whether he was confused but he seemed in control. He just kept asking about his family members.
"He was walking around completely alone."
Last night a relative in Essex said: "It's all still very raw."
The Brits were among the 321 people killed in coordinated 'ISIS-inspired' terror assaults at churches and hotels in the country on Easter Sunday.
ISIS has now claimed responsibility for the horrific attack through the brainwashed death cult's Amaq news agency.
Also killed in the shocking attacks was as a UK firefighter who was officially praised for his heroism during the 1996 IRA bombing.
Billy Harrop, 56, and his wife Sally died during the bombings however their son Gavin, who was also in Sri Lanka at the time, survived the blasts, which targeted churches and hotels.
Mr Harrop was a well known and highly respected former firefighter who worked in various roles across Greater Manchester.
It's thought he had recently retired and emigrated to Australia with his family, and was on holiday.
Following the bombings that have crippled Sri Lanka, cops found 87 detonators at a bus station yesterday.
One of those said to have launched the attack on the Shangri-La has been named as Insan Setiawan, according to local reports.
Indian media also named the man who was said to be the "mastermind" behind the atrocity.
They reported Zahran Hashim, a radical Islamic cleric known for posting incendiary videos on YouTube, was also allegedly one of the suicide bombers who targeted the hotel.
Hashim had also wanted to attack the Indian High Commission in the capital of Sri Lanka on April 4 but failed to do so, intelligence sources told CNN-News18.
Today, a Syrian national was being held in custody by Sri Lankan police for questioning over the attacks, Reuters news agency reported.
HELPED BY 'INTERNATIONAL' JIHADIS
On Monday, the Sri Lankan government named local Jihadi terror group National Thowheeth Jama'ath as being responsible for the horrific attacks.
Politicians have admitted a massive intelligence failure and issued an apology to the victims after the country's military bosses were given key information about the planned attacks.
This intel was not passed on to the Sri Lankan government just days before the attacks.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Sri Lankan prime minister, acknowledged that “information was there” about possible attacks.
He added: “We must also look into why adequate precautions were not taken”.
It emerged Sri Lanka's police chief Pujuth Jayasundara warned cops of suicide bombers planning to hit "prominent churches" 10 days before the attack.
However, cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said that the sick terrorists were helped by an "international network."
"We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country," Senaratne said.
"There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded."
A United States government official told CNN said that the Jihadi attackers were inspired by ISIS.
Brainwashed supporters of the Islamic death cult have been celebrating the attacks online.
FAMILIES DESTROYED
It emerged yesterday that ASOS billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen has lost three of his children in the Sri Lanka terror attacks.
A spokesperson for Povlsen - Scotland's largest landowner - confirmed that three of his four kids were among the dead.
Mr Povlsen, 46, is the biggest shareholder in the British online clothes shop Asos.com and second biggest shareholder in German firm Zalando.
London student Nisanga Mayadume and her TV chef mum Shantha were yesterday confirmed to be among 35 tourists killed in the atrocity.
Ms Mayadume posted a heartbreaking photo of the family having breakfast at the Shangi-La Hotel just moments before the deadly explosion.
The University of London graduate, believed to be in her 30s, captioned the Facebook update from just ten hours ago with "Easter breakfast with family", under which hundreds of people have commented "RIP".
MP'S HEARTACHE
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, who has family in Bangladesh, revealed she lost a relative in the blast.
She wrote on Twitter: "I lost a relative today in the Sri Lanka attacks.
"It’s all so devastating. Hope everyone is keeping safe. Solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed "several" Americans were also killed - along with victims from the Netherlands, Portugal and China.
Three churches and four hotels - including the luxury Shangri-La Hotel, Cinnamon Grand and The Kingsbury Colombo - were targeted in the devastating attacks.
Colombo International Airport was later put on lockdown amid reports of a suspicious package - which was later destroyed by a bomb disposal squad.
A manager at the Cinnamon Grand said the attacker there set off the explosion when the restaurant was full, after queuing for the breakfast buffet.
Harrowing footage taken immediately after one of the blasts in a church is full of chilling screams, as stunned and panicked people react to the horror.
BRITISH FAMILY CHEATS DEATH
A terrified British family told how they were caught up in the atrocity as their hotel became a target for the terror.
Dr Julian Emmanuel, 48, an NHS doctor from Surrey, his wife Maria, 39, and their young children Jasintha and Neethan were staying at the Cinnamon Grand when they were woken by the blast.
They cheated death by having a lie-in as the bomber detonated his suicide vest in the restaurant.
He told the Sun: “We were in our room and heard a large explosion.
“We were rushed downstairs. Staff told us there had been a bomb that had exploded in the restaurant in the basement.
“We were outside for hours and saw casualties being taken away.
“We saw someone who had an almost severed arm — there were shocked children covered in dust.
“One of the staff told me there had been a suicide bomber because he saw a decapitated body.
“The staff at the hotel lost two or three of their colleagues.
“My children and wife are traumatised by what they saw today. We will never forget this.
“We will always remember Easter Sunday for this reason now.”
EIGHT DEADLY EXPLOSIONS
Hours after the first six were reported, there were two more fatal blasts in the city,
An explosion at a hotel in Dehiwala killed two, and another in a flats in Dematagoda reportedly killed three police officers.
All of the six explosions came as Christians attended Easter mass and were carried out by suicide bombers, according to initial investigations.
Sri Lanka's minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene said in a press conference: "We believe that all the culprits who have been involved in this unfortunate terrorist incident will be taken into custody as soon as possible.
"They have been identified, and they will be taken into custody as soon as possible."
It was today confirmed that 40 suspects have been arrested - one of whom is said to have been stopped in a van transporting explosives to the city.
Dozens of local people rushed to donate blood to help the wounded in the wake of the terrifying attacks, after witnesses reported seeing buildings shake in the explosions.
Shocking images from inside one of the churches show bloodied pews, a destroyed roof and bodies scattered on the ground.
Worshippers were attacked at St Anthony's Shrine, a Catholic Church in Kochchikade, Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, a majority Catholic town north of Colombo, and at Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa.
The government confirmed it shut down access to Facebook and WhatsApp - a tactic which has been used before in the country to prevent the spread of violence and misinformation.
A night curfew from 6pm to 6am is also in place in the wake of the attacks, the Sri Lanka defence minister announced, with no indication when it will be lifted.
US President Donald Trump tweeted "heartfelt condolences from the people of the United States to the people of Sri Lanka on the horrible terrorist attacks on churches and hotels", adding "we stand ready to help".
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena urged people to stay calm, adding: "I am shocked and saddened by the situation that has occurred."
Brits in Sri Lanka who need help are urged to call the High Commission in Colombo on +94 11 5390639, while people in the UK worried about friends or family should call the Foreign Office on 020 7008 1500.
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