REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Brit teen siblings escaped first blast in Sri Lankan hotel only to be killed in a second blast moments later

19-year-old Daniel Linsey and 15-year-old Amelie were at the luxurious Shangri-La hotel, having breakfast with their father Matthew, before heading to the airport for their flight home.
UPDATED MAR 20, 2020
(Source : Getty Images)
(Source : Getty Images)

A brother and sister of British origin were able to escape one of the terror blasts in Sri Lanka, it was revealed on April 22 night, only to lose their lives in a second blast that took place in the same hotel. 19-year-old Daniel Linsey and 15-year-old Amelie Linsey were at the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo having breakfast with their father Matthew before they had to go to the airport for their flight home. The teens were able to miraculously survive the initial explosion inside the restaurant but then tragically died in the second blast as they were trying to escape.

The children are among the 359 people who lost their lives in the explosion that rocked the country on Easter Sunday after suicide bombers blew themselves up in multiple hotels and churches. So far, 40 suspects have been arrested by the authorities, the BBC reported.

The teenager's 61-year-old father Matthew, who is an American city fund manager married to British woman Angeline, returned to their home in central London to be with her and his other two sons, who were not on the holiday. He told The Times: "You can't describe how bad it was. People were screaming. I was with my children. I couldn't tell whether they were all right, it was dark. I was worried there would be another blast."

"We ran out — another blast. We both went to where the lifts were and I couldn't move them, they were both knocked out. My son looked worse than my daughter. I tried to revive him. A lady said she'd take my daughter. I carried my son downstairs to an ambulance, we took him to the hospital. I yelled, 'Please help my son, please help, please help'. I thought my daughter was better off. I couldn't find her because I was with my son. They sadly passed away."

He also told the newspaper that Daniel, who was a student at Westminster Kingsway College and had been deciding between going to university at Manchester or Leicester to study marketing, was very interested in charity work. The teen had volunteered in Ethiopia for an orphanage as well as with nomads in Mongolia. 

Matthew then said that his daughter, who was a student at Godolphin and Latymer School in Hammersmith, west London, was "beautiful inside and out". He then added: "Both children were very interested in different cultures. They loved traveling abroad. That's a very important part of who they were."

Sri Lankan police stand at the site of an explosion in a restaurant area of the luxury Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo on April 21, 2019 (Source: ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images)

21-year-old David, Matthew's eldest son, said that the family had been on the last day of Easter break. He said: "They were due to fly home that day and had been having breakfast when the first bomb went off. My dad said they were all caught up in a second explosion as they tried to escape. Both my brother and sister were instantly unconscious and were taken to hospital but they never woke up. My dad is shocked and has not said much apart from that. He is trying to be strong for my little brother who is 12 and my mum."

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW