By Kalani Kumarasinghe and Yoshitha Perera 

A special Police information unit was installed opposite the Chief Judicial Medical Office at the Colombo National Hospital (CNH), where police officers have been deployed to assist in providing information on deaths related to the explosions that took place in Colombo this week.   

More than 350 people were killed and over 500 people were injured in the deadly attacks which took place on last Easter Sunday. Justice and Prison Reforms Ministry’s Media Secretary Nalin Rajapaksa said a number of unidentified bodies of both local and foreign victims of the attacks, remain at the morgue within the compound of the JMO’s office.  

The special Police unit which was set up on Tuesday, (April 23) is manned by 10 Police officers, operating under Chief Inspector K. L. A. T. S. Jayasinghe attached to the Keselwatte Police Station. 11 family members of victims of the recent attacks have visited the information unit over the past two days, according to CI Jayasinghe. “One Indian national who came in search of a missing person from the Shangri-La bomb explosion, identified the body,” he said. Jayasinghe noted that family members arriving at the unit in search of information are from the areas of Dematagoda, Pettah, Kollupitiya, Kochchikade and coastal areas. He added that several others visited the site in hopes of finding missing relatives and friends who were believed to be victims of the explosions in Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels.   

Police officers attached to the unit have been counselling with families of the affected, in order to assist them in identifying the deceased. A special operation’s unit has been set up within the premises of the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, where medical, security and judicial officers are engaged in the identification and documentation process.   

Meanwhile the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has deployed 15 of its officers to assist the operations at this unit. DMC Deputy Director Pradeep Kodippili said that while the present disaster situation does not fall under the DMC’s purview it has been providing logistical support to the teams present. The DMC’s mobile emergency unit has also been installed at the venue. “DMC officers are present at this venue on a 24 hour rotational basis,” he said. 10 officers attached to the Sri Lanka Red Cross were also seen at the JMO office engaged in various tasks.  

During our visit to the site several distressed families and foreigners were seen awaiting news of their loved ones, while others stood by to identify their missing relatives. State officers together with the volunteer corps were providing their continuous assistance to family members. Police officers said that they are hoping to continue the operation almost two weeks until the families of missing persons stop arriving at the site.