The daughter of a British mum killed in the Sri Lanka bombings alongside her son, 11, has been confirmed dead.
Anita and Ben Nicholson had been eating breakfast with their children Annabel and Alex at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, when two suicide bombers blew themselves up.
She and Alex were both killed in the blasts and Annabel was believed to be missing – but it was later revealed that she also lost her life.
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Ben, the only one from the family to survive, said in a statement today that mercifully his wife and children all died instantly with no pain or suffering.
In the heartbreaking message, he continued: 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.
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The holiday we had just enjoyed was a testament to Anitas enjoyment of travel and providing a rich and colourful life for our family, and especially our children.
Alex and Annabel were the most amazing, intelligent, talented and thoughtful children and Anita and I were immensely proud of them both and looking forward to seeing them develop into adulthood.
They shared with their mother the priceless ability to light up any room they entered and bring joy to the lives of all they came into contact with.
He thanked medical teams in Colombo for treating Anita, Alex and Annabel, as well as treating him with kindness and sympathy.
The Nicholsons worked as lawyers based in Singapore, according to their online profiles, and had been on holiday in Sri Lanka for a week when the attacks took place.
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Earlier today it was reported that Ben had been walking through the city covered in blood with a cut to his ear shortly after the
Pushpa Zoysa, who is in charge of the emergency triage at the National Hospital in Colombo, told the MailOnline: He was not running or crying, he was shocked.
We wondered whether he was confused but he seemed in control. He just kept asking about his family members.
He was walking around completely alone and I feel sorry for him but there were so many dead and dying people here, I didnt have time to speak to him more. Eventually he left.
Ms Zoysa also described the chaos of treating the many victims of the attacks, recalling vehicles arriving full of body parts and badly injured people.
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Eight blasts ripped through the countrys capital on Easter Sunday, targeting Christians, hotel guests and foreign tourists.
Today the death toll jumped up to 290 people, while more than 450 were injured.
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Among at least 35 foreign nationals killed in the blasts were three children of Asos billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen.
A spokesman for Povlsen, Denmarks richest man, confirmed the deaths but did not say which of his four children died.
Just days before, his daughter Alma had shared a photo of her siblings Astrid, Agnes and Alfred enjoying themselves by the pool.
Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq has said she had lost a relative in the attacks.
METRO
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