Easter bombing: Injured Melbourne woman to get surgery

The family of a Melbourne woman badly injured in Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terror attacks has made a desperate plea for help to bring her back home for urgent medical treatment

The family of an Australian woman badly injured in Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terror attacks has made a desperate plea for help to bring her back home for urgent medical treatment.

Melbourne woman Chathudila Weerasinghe, 28, had emergency surgery on her right eye on Wednesday night and is expected to have more on Thursday to treat leg injuries.

Her father, Ranjith, 62, flew more than 40 hours from Melbourne to Colombo to be with his daughter and wife Vipuli, who suffered minor injuries when a suicide bomber detonated at the Kingsbury Hotel on Colombo’s west coast.

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The woman and her mother were injured in the blast at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo. Picture: AFP

The holidaying pair were having breakfast at the luxury hotel when the explosion hit.

“It’s a miracle my wife survived,” said Mr Weerasinghe, of Doreen, in Melbourne’s north-east.

“According to her was 10 metres away from them.

“My wife is having breakfast and they want to get some food and the thing happened.”

Mother and daughter were separated for some time and Mr Weerasinghe learned of the tragedy when his frantic wife called with news of the terror attack.

He was on a flight to Sri Lanka straight away, he said.

They had been holidaying for the past month and were due to return to Melbourne on Wednesday.

Mr Weerasinghe, speaking to News Corp from the National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo, where he was maintaining a bedside vigil, said his primary concern was getting his daughter treated by Australian medical professionals.

Workers bury victims in a mass funeral for the Easter Sunday bomb blast victims in Negombo. Picture: AP

Defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene revealed that one of the bombers had studied in Australia. Picture: AFP

She suffered serious injuries including bomb shrapnel wounds, including to her lungs, a broken leg and other fractures.

Unable to walk, she has already undergone multiple surgeries.

He hoped an Australian doctor might fly to Colombo to help determine the extent of her injuries.

The family, including a Brisbane-based son, are pleading for help to repatriate the pair home.

He was also unsure whether any medical transfer or care is covered by insurance as the local system was in “chaos” but the provider was struggling with communication problems.

The father said he wanted her back in Melbourne for treatment and rehabilitation as soon as possible.

“Everyone is trying to help but the Sri Lankan system is not coping very well at this stage,” he said.

Melbourne mum Manik Suriaaratchi and her daughter Alexendria were killed in the Negombo Church explosion.

Mrs Weerasinghe was “coping well” despite suffering minor injuries, her husband said.

“At the moment the main focus is my daughter, but I started noticing she needs to go to counselling as well,” he said.

“I can see yesterday night she hears even small noises and started jumping.”

They were also grateful for Australian diplomatic help.

Staff from the Australian High Commission have been in regular contact with the family.

In the capital Colombo, St Anthony’s Shrine and the Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La and Kingsbury hotels were targeted.

There were also explosions at a hotel near Dehiwala zoo and in the residential district of Dematagoda.

The hospital has been forced to establish an outside triage centre due to the volume of patients, which is reportedly the largest since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended more than a decade ago.

The women were among hundreds to be injured in a series of bomb blasts on Easter Sunday that has left at least 359 people dead.

Security personnel stand guard after a controlled explosion in front of a movie theatre in Colombo. Picture: AFP

Melbourne mum Manik Suriaaratchi and her daughter Alexendria were among those who tragically died. They were attending Easter Sunday mass at a Negombo church.

Grieving husband and father Sudesh Kolonne told the ABC on Tuesday that the pair had been excited to attend St Sebastian’s.

“I just saw my daughter on the floor and I tried to lift her up, [but] she was already dead,” Mr Kolonne said.

“And [then] exactly the same… next my wife is there.”

Originally published as Easter bombing: Injured Melbourne woman to get surgery