A man cheated death after the church he nearly entered was ripped apart by a suicide bomber in a carnage that claimed the lives of more than 290 people, injuring 5000 others.
The man, Dilip Fernando had arrived at 7:30 at Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka, but had found the church packed to capacity.
Because he did not want his family to stand, they opted to move to another church, while his extended family stayed in Sebastian’s church.
Minutes after Fernando left, a deadly blast ripped through the centre of the church, leaving scores dead and many injured.
The decision to move to the next church probably saved Fernando and his family!
Monday morning, Fernando visited the church to see just what his life would have been were he to stay and worship at the Sebastian’s Church.
“I usually come to services here,” the 66-year-old retiree told an International Media, as around three dozen security personnel stood outside the church.
“Yesterday me and my wife arrived at 7:30 am but it was so crowded there was no place for me. I didn’t want to stand so I left and went to another church.”
Fernando’s extended family who decided to sit outside the crowded church narrated how a man carrying a heavy bag walked in as the sermon was ending.
The man, they say, could have been the suicide bomber in the church.
His extended family said that the man was “calm” and “relaxed” even as he entered the church.
They wondered why he was getting inside the church despite the sermon having ended.
In no minute, a blast ripped through the church, and Fernando’s extended family rushed towards the exit in panic.
“They heard it and quickly ran away, they were so afraid. They called me immediately to ask if I was inside the church, but by then I was in a different church.”
“At the end of the mass they saw one young man go into the church in with a heavy bag,” Fernando said.
“He touched my granddaughter’s head on the way past. It was the bomber.”
– ‘I’m so lucky’ –
Fernando recounted how lucky he was, saying that he had attended the church all his life in Sri Lanka.
He, however, ruled out the possibility of revenge, urging that the government should take up its role in addressing the situation.
“If the church was open this morning then I would have gone inside. We are not afraid. We won’t let terrorists win, no way.”
– ‘Revenge is useless’ –
“Revenge is useless. It’s the responsibility of the government to control this, not us.”
Ignored Warning
In April 11, the government had been warned of an imminent attack on Christian churches. Investigators are looking at the reasons the warnings were not heeded.
In the eight blasts that rocked Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo, more than 290 had died by Monday morning.
An additional 500 others were nursing injuries in hospitals spread across the city.
Police presence continues to dot the island country’s towns, even as America issued a travel advisory to its citizens on imminent attacks on the country.