Minutes after posting selfie, celebrity chef and daughter killed in Sri Lanka blast

On Sunday morning, Nisanga Mayadunne had posted a family selfie from the Shangri La hotel’s restaurant on Facebook captioned ‘Easter breakfast with family’ at 8:47 am. Minutes later, her mother and celebrity chef Shantha Mayadunne were among the hundreds killed in the coordinated terror attacks that devastated Sri Lanka on Sunday.

They were among the first deaths to be identified. "When I heard the news, I was left numbed and shocked. I don't know what more to say," their friend Radha Fonseca told Gulf News. 

“Nisanga was a very popular girl in college. Besides the fact that she was bright and smart, her mother Shantha Mayadunne, a renowned chef, made her more popular in college. She (the mother) was well respected and an inspirational chef for Sri Lankans,” Radha told the daily. 

Shantha Mayudunne runs the Shantha Mayadunne School of Cooking Art.

290 people were killed on Sunday in eight blasts across the island country of Sri Lanka, which were in high-end hotels and churches were people were attending Easter mass.

Another small explosion reported near Kochchikade church in Colombo on Monday. 

24 people have been arrested in connection with the blasts, which the Sri Lankan government has stated was carried out by a local outfit, National Thowheed Jamath. 

On Monday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared Emergency in the country from Monday midnight.  He also re-imposed a curfew from 8 pm on April 22 to 4 am on April 23.

The Sri Lankan government on Monday said that it will hold an official funeral to pay tribute to all the people who were killed on Sunday. The funeral will be held on Tuesday at the Katuwapitya church in Negambo, a few kilometres to the north of Colombo, Efe news reported.