Apr 24, 2019 (LBO) – The Kingsbury Colombo said that they are ready to welcome visitors to the hotel from tomorrow and that the security in the premises and the periphery of the hotel has been strengthened in coordination with state authorities. Statement to Media Colombo, April 24, 2019: Recent events have been deeply disturbing however our passion to serve our valued guests remains resilient in the face of these challenging times. The Kingsbury empathizes with all innocent victims of this senseless destruction and our hearts go out to the grieving families of all those affected. During the aftermath of the tragic events our team has been focused on taking care of guests and team members around the clock using all available resources and in the midst of much adversity. We have done our maximum to ensure the safety and well-being of the remaining guests and employees. In spite of adversity and great odds, we feel it our duty by our staff and our patrons to restore normalcy. We are ready to welcome visitors to The Kingsbury from the 25th of April, 2019. Hotel accommodation, Banquets and Restaurants (Yue Chuan, CÉ LA VI, Kings Bar) will be functional to serve our clientele and we are equipped to serve you with even more passion and determination, epitomizing the true Kingsbury spirit. Under the circumstances, we wish to reassure our guests that security has been strengthened in coordination with state authorities. This includes enhanced security at the premises and the periphery of the hotel.<doc-sep>Advertisement These are the chilling scenes as a suicide bomber checks into Colombo's Kingsbury Hotel and calmly went to his room before returning to the breakfast room to detonate his device. CCTV footage of the man shows him interacting with staff before entering a lift. The following morning he returns downstairs on his deadly mission. The footage showed furniture inside the breakfast room being thrown into the air by the force of the blast. This is the chilling moment a suspected suicide bomber checked into the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo on Saturday evening CCTV cameras picked up the man as he left his hotel room at 8.13 on Sunday, shortly before the terrorist attack The CCTV footage showed the man calmly walking from the lift towards his target where fellow guests were having breakfast Only a couple of tables were occupied as the suicide attacker entered the restaurant in Colombo Moments later, the blast ripped through the building with glass and shrapnel flying through the air The footage showed how the blast ripped through the Kingsbury Hotel as guests were having their breakfast on Sunday Sri Lankan authorities are currently trying to track down other members of the terror cell responsible for the multiple bombings which have claimed 250 lives. Muslims were urged on Friday not to congregate in large crowds for their weekly prayers in case they became targets for attacks. Catholic leaders have cancelled Sunday Masses indefinitely while the current security risk remains high. On Friday, Sri Lankan military engaged a group of militants which resulted in the discovery of 15 bodies, including six bodies. The terror suspects fired on soldiers and detonated explosives. The gunfight came after police tipped off soldiers about a suspected safe house near the town of Sammanthurai, where authorities said the militants detonated three explosions and opened fire. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said some of the dead likely were militants who blew themselves up in suicide bombings. Earlier, the military said at least one civilian had been killed in the attack. A girl and a woman survived the explosion at the suspected safe house but were critically injured and being treated at a hospital, Gunasekara said. Sri Lankan military have been conducting a series of raids against suspected terror safe houses following the deadly attacks Photographs taken by The Associated Press show the charred remains of one child and the body of another wearing a green T-shirt with the words 'good boy' written on the back. The bodies of an adult woman and man were found after the explosion with their clothes burned off. Meanwhile, the military said security forces had recovered explosives, detonators, 'suicide kits,' military uniforms and ISIS group flags in the ongoing raids. Gunasekara said officers acting on information from intelligence officials also found 150 sticks of blasting gelatin and 100,000 small metal balls, as well as a van and clothing suspected of being used by those involved in the Easter attacks. Suicide bomb vests often are packed with such balls to increase the shrapnel in the explosion, making them even deadlier. Fear of more attacks has led to increased security at churches, shrines, temples and mosques across the multiethnic island nation of 21 million off the southern coast of India. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, told reporters Friday that church officials had seen a leaked security document describing Roman Catholic churches and other denominations as a major target. He asked the faithful across Sri Lanka to stay home for their own safety. 'We don't want repetitions,' Ranjith said. It was an extraordinary request for a Catholic clergyman to make, as churches often remain a refuge. Giovanni Maria Vian, a church historian and emeritus editor of the Vatican newspaper, said he believed it was the first time the church had canceled Masses across a country for security reasons. In Galle Face, a normally crowded ocean side park in Colombo near some of the hotels that were bombed, only a few people could be seen Saturday. Kiosks were closed and traffic was lighter than usual, with security officials blocking streets and checking vehicles at barricades. Yashwant Kumar Singh, 23, a worker from India, said he wants to go back to his homeland because he fears another attack. 'If it only happened on one day, then that wouldn't have been so difficult, but bombs are going off here every day. That is why there is an atmosphere of fear. We are feeling very scared,' he said. Meanwhile, cleaning crews worked at St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, the capital, where broken glass still littered a blood-stained floor, the remnants of one of the Easter attacks. They collected debris, tossing it into a truck parked outside as a heavy contingent of security forces stood guard. The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka has warned the public to stay away from places of worship over the weekend, a stark alert underlining that authorities believe attackers remain at large. Authorities told Muslims to worship at home rather than attend communal Friday prayers that are the most important religious service of the week, but several mosques held services anyway. At a mosque in Colombo, police armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles stood guard outside for hundreds of worshippers. The Easter attackers are 'not Muslims. This is not Islam. This is an animal,' said Akurana Muhandramlage Jamaldeen Mohamed Jayfer, the chairman of the mosque. 'We don't have a word (strong enough) to curse them.' There were also reports by some Muslims of harassment because of their religion. A local television channel showed people on a bus asking a Muslim woman wearing a traditional burqa to either remove it or leave the bus. She later left the bus. Abdul Azeez Abdul Sattar, 63, an auto-rickshaw driver, said a man in his neighborhood refused to hire him, telling him, 'You are a terrorist; you have a bomb. I won't take your auto.' There were several armed police officers guarding the Holy Cross Church in Gampaha, a predominantly Buddhist town. Pradeep Kumara, 36, a clerk at a private company, said, 'People are shocked, because this came years after the war ended and after all these years, we have been living in peace. This has disrupted our work, and our ordinary and normal life. We don't want to go back to that troublesome period.' Sri Lanka's government, crippled from a long political crisis between the president and prime minister last year, promised swift action to capture militants still at large. President Maithripala Sirisena said about 140 people had been identified as having links to the Islamic State group. A 'major search operation has been undertaken,' Sirisena said. 'Every household in the country will be checked.' On Friday, police confirmed that the leader of the local militant group blamed for the attack, Mohamed Zahran, died in the suicide bombing at the Shangri-La Hotel, one of six hotels and churches attacked. Zahran appeared in an ISIS video claiming responsibility for the coordinated assault, and authorities in both Sri Lanka and Australia confirmed links between ISIS and the attack.<doc-sep>
The Kingsbury Colombo, one of the hotels popular amongst the Indian travellers was a victim of the recent tragic event in Sri Lanka. Despite the difficult situations, the property is up and ready to serve the travellers once again. In a statement the hotel said, “The recent events have been disturbing however; our passion to serve our valued guests remains resilient in the face of these challenging times. The Kingsbury empathises with all innocent victims of this senseless destruction and our hearts go out to the grieving families of all those affected. During the aftermath of the tragic events our team has been focused on taking care of guests and team members around the clock with the available resources in the midst of much adversity. We have done our maximum to ensure the safety and well-being of the remaining guests and employees.” Further the statement said, “In spite of adversity and great odds, we feel it our duty by our staff and our patrons to restore normalcy. We are ready to welcome visitors to The Kingsbury from the April 25, 2019. Hotel accommodation, Banquets and Restaurants (Yue Chuan, CÉ LA VI, Kings Bar) will be functional to serve our clientele and we are equipped to serve you with even more passion and determination, epitomizing the true Kingsbury spirit. Under the circumstances, we wish to reassure our guests that security has been strengthened and is fully geared to meet any eventualities in coordination with the state authorities. This includes enhanced security at the premises and the periphery of the hotel.” Komal Seth, India representative, LINKIN Reps said, “Such activities and activists want glory for their actions and we must not give them that. The immediate chaos after attacks is used by attackers to instil fear, divisiveness and spread rumours. We encourage people to travel to Sri Lanka and stay at The Kingsbury. Travel Trade should stand united and support our friendly neighbours to stand tall.”