Sri Lanka attacks: Swansea student's family killed in blasts

Angelo Kurera's family ive in Negombo in Sri Lanka

A student who has lost family members in the Sri Lanka bomb attacks has said his heart sinks every time he thinks about it.

Angelo Kurera, 20, is studying at Swansea University and is the president of the Sri Lankan society on campus.

Two of his cousins are among 290 people killed in eight blasts around the country on Easter Sunday with churches and hotels targeted.

His family live in Negombo, about 20 miles north of the capital Colombo.

A bomb went off at St Sebastian's Church in his home town.

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"I've got many members of my family who have been injured and two of them have passed away, they are cousins from my father's side," Mr Kurera told BBC Radio Wales.

"Updates are mostly from my friends - now and again I just get a text - one of my friend's uncle passed away and one of my teacher's family is injured in hospital.

"My heart sinks every time I think about it because I was brought up in Sri Lanka most of my life. It's beyond words."

St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, where Angelo Kurera's family hails from, was severely damaged

Mr Kurera, who moved to Wales in 2015 to study aerospace engineering, said the worst thing was being thousands of miles away from home knowing his family were scared.

"No-one should have to live with this uncertainty, with this fear," he added.

"I can't shed tears here. I need to be strong for my family. My family is in tears.

"Everyone is hurt. The whole country is mourning."

Eight Britons are among 35 foreign nationals who died but the majority were locals.

Police said at least another 500 people were injured in the blasts.

The government has blamed a little-known local jihadist group, National Thowheed Jamath, although no-one has yet admitted carrying out the bombings.

So far, 24 people have been arrested in a series of raids and the president's office declared a state of national emergency.