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Sri Lanka attack death toll between 250-260, not 359 - officials

by Reuters
Thursday, 25 April 2019 16:47 GMT

People attend the funeral of Dhami Brindya, 13, victim of a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday, in Negombo, Sri Lanka April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

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COLOMBO, April 25 (Reuters) - The death toll in Sri Lanka's Easter Day attack is around 100 fewer than the 359 originally thought, a two top government officials told Reuters on Thursday.

"It could be 250 or 260. I can't exactly say. There are so many body parts and it is difficult to give a precise figure," Anil Jasinghe, the director general of Sri Lanka's health services told Reuters in a phone interview.

Ruwan Wijewardene, Sri Lanka's deputy defence minister whose ministry is responsible for the island's police force, said the death toll had been revised down to 253 due to inaccurate figures provided by the country's morgues.

"Unfortunately the health ministry provided the earlier number to us," he said. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez and Alasdair Pal; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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