Dubai: A celebrity TV chef and her daughter were among the hundreds killed in the coordinated terror attacks that devastated Sri Lanka on Sunday, a family friend said. Shantha Mayadunne and Nisanga Mayadunne were killed in the Shangri-La Hotel blast in Colombo, one of four attacks that ripped through the capital, the Gulf News reported.
“When I heard the news, I was left numbed and shocked. I don’t know what more to say,” their friend Radha Fonseca told the daily.
Fonseca called Nisanga “bright and smart.” She noted that Shantha was “an inspirational chef for Sri Lankans”.
Some 290 people were killed in the bombings that targeted those attending Easter Mass and guests at high-end hotels popular with foreign tourists besides three churches.
Shantha’s daughter had posted a photo to her Facebook hours before the bombing, showing her family sitting around a table and smiling as they enjoy their Easter breakfast.
“Easter breakfast with family,” she wrote, along with a smiling emoji.
