The police stated that three Catholic churches were hit by blasts in Sri Lanka on Sunday during Easter mass, as well as three large hotels. The government, led by the prime minister, has announced an emergency meeting to address the explosions.

National Hospital spokesman Dr Samindi Samarakoon said the explosions in Sri Lanka killed 30 people and wounded 283 others. St. Anthony's Shrine in the Kochchikade district of Colombo and St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo have been hit by the blasts, as well as a church in the eastern city of Batticaloa.

At the same time, an anonymous official has told AFP that the death toll has risen to at least 52, with 42 killed in Colombo and 10 in Batticaloa.

No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The source in the police told AP that authorities suspect at least two of the blasts were caused by suicide bombers.

The tweet says it shows the results of the blast at St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade.

About 1.2 million or 6 percent of the Sri Lankan population belongs to the Catholic faith, while the country is mainly Buddhist. In 1995, at a ceremony in Colombo, Pope John Paul II beatified early missionary Father Joseph Vaz who is known as the Apostle of Ceylon.