Victims of the Sri Lanka attacks

As near-simultaneous blasts tore through three popular hotels and three churches packed with worshippers

COLOMBO: More than 350 people are now known to have died in a horrifying series of attacks that ripped through Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

While the majority of victims were Sri Lankans attending church on the Christian holy day, there were also a number of foreign tourists killed, many visiting during the Easter holiday period.

Near-simultaneous blasts tore through three high-end hotels popular with foreigners, and three churches packed with worshippers.

The government has said the bombers may have been acting in revenge for shootings at two mosques in New Zealand last month which left 50 dead. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Death toll in Sri Lanka bombings rises to 359

Here is what we know so far about some of those killed in the blasts.

Sri Lankan celebrity chef Shantha Mayadunne was pictured having breakfast in the Shangri-La hotel just minutes before a bomb tore apart the hotel's restaurant. Her daughter Nisanga posted the picture on Facebook shortly before the blast on Sunday with the caption "Easter breakfast with the family".

A family member posted a tribute on Facebook saying Shantha and her daughter were both killed.

"No words can describe the pain. They were the most loving family anyone could ask for and I will always be grateful for having them in my life," wrote Manik Mayadunne.

Shantha was considered one of Sri Lanka's most popular television chefs and was the author of several books.

Anita Nicholson, 42, a Singapore-based lawyer for mining company Anglo-American, died alongside her 14-year-old son Alex and 11-year-old daughter Annabel in the Shangri-La hotel blast.

Her husband Ben Nicholson was the only family member to survive the attack.

"Mercifully, all three of them died instantly and with no pain or suffering," he said in a statement released by the UK Foreign Office.

"I am deeply distressed at the loss of my wife and children. Anita was a wonderful, perfect wife and a brilliant, loving and inspirational mother to our two wonderful children."

At least eight British citizens are among the dead, according to the British foreign office.

Danish billionaire loses three children in Sri Lanka blasts

Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen lost three of his four children in the Easter day attacks.

Povlsen, his wife Anne and their four children were in Sri Lanka on vacation at the moment of the attacks.

Considered to be Denmark's richest man, 46-year-old Holch Povlsen is the main shareholder in the online fashion retailer ASOS as well as the owner of clothing group Bestseller.

Sri Lankan-born Manik Suriaaratchi and her 10-year-old daughter Alexandria, who was born in Melbourne, were killed in the attack on St Sebastian's Church, where they were reportedly regular attendees.

Manik's husband, Sudesh Kolonne, was outside when the blast occurred and survived.

Manik was a senior executive at marketing company Omega Global. The family had returned to Sri Lanka several years ago from Australia to take care of Manik's mother.

US national Dieter Kowalski, who worked for British educational and publishing company Pearson, died soon after arriving in Colombo on a work trip.

He had planned to spend a week in the city to work on technical issues with local engineers, with whom he had become "good friends" after a previous visit, according to Pearson CEO John Fallon.

"Colleagues who knew Dieter well talk about how much fun he was to be around, how big-hearted and full-spirited he was," Fallon wrote.

Two parents and their three children were killed in the St Sebastian's Church blast. Rangana Fernando, his wife Danadiri and their children - their daughters aged six and four and their eleven month old son - were attending the Easter service at the church.

Danadiri's brother told the BBC their funerals were held on Monday and that they "are now in a better place".

Eleven-year-old Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa was killed at the breakfast buffet of a hotel in the Sri Lankan capital while on holiday with his mother, who suffered minor injuries in the blast.

Shafritz de Zoysa was to spend the summer travelling before returning his studies at the prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington, his father Alex Arrow told ABC News.

"We should know what the world lost, what they took from the world," Arrow said. "A brilliant mind who ... won't make it to his 12th birthday."

London says Britons among those killed in Sri Lanka attacks

London teenagers Daniel Linsey, 19, and his younger sister Amelie, 15, were also killed at the Shangri-La hotel on the final day of their holiday, according to media reports quoting relatives.

Their father Matthew Linsey survived and described to The Times desperately trying to revive his unconscious son in the aftermath of the attack.

"You can't describe how bad it was," he told the newspaper. "People were screaming. I was with my children. I couldn't tell whether they were all right, it was dark."

Retired Manchester firefighter Billy Harrop and his wife Sally Bradley, a clinical services director, both died in the Cinnamon Grand Hotel bombing.

The couple had lived in Australia since 2013 but were due to return to Britain after buying a retirement home in the Cotswolds, Britain's ITV news reported.

"He was a much loved and respected colleague and friend," assistant county fire officer Dave Keelan said of Harrop, speaking to Britain's Sky News. "He will be greatly missed."

Portuguese national Rui Lucas, 31, was killed at the Kingsbury Hotel while on honeymoon with his wife, who escaped the blast uninjured.

The amateur footballer and electrical engineer's family was "in shock", his brother Hugo Lucas told Cofina Media.

Several Americans killed in Sri Lanka attacks: Pompeo

His wife returned to Portugal on Monday, Cofina reported.

Four Sri Lankan staff members at the Cinnamon Grand hotel died in the attacks, with the hotel spokesperson telling the BBC it was "one of our busiest periods."

They have been identified only as Shantha, Sanjeewani, Ibrahim and Nisthar.

The Shangri-La Colombo announced in a statement on its Facebook page that three of its staff members had been killed in the attacks, but didn't give any more details.