London: A British family staying in one of the Colombo hotels targeted by suicide bombers had a narrow escape — because they were late for breakfast. Julian Emmanuel, 48, is staying at the Cinnamon Hotel in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital where a terrorist detonated his suicide vest at the restaurant during buffet.
Speaking from Sri Lanka with wife Maria, 39, daughter Jasintha, 11, and 7-year-old son Neethan, Emmanuel told The Mirror: “We were quite lazy and running late. We are on the ninth floor and breakfast was in the basement, that is where the bomb went off. So we missed it.
“We saw what had happened in the restaurant. But we could have been in the breakfast hall if it were not for the fact we were late – timing is everything I guess.’
The Surrey-based doctor added: “We have been so very lucky, very fortunate. It is in the hands of God, that is all you can do.” He added: “We saw the aftermath, the carnage, the damage.”
Some 290 people were killed when suicide bombers exploded themselves in three luxury hotels and three churches besides two other locations in well-coordinated attacks on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. The dead included two to three dozen foreigners.