Five activists of the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) died in Colombo's serial bomb blasts on Sunday, a top state official said on Monday.
"Of the seven party workers, we have received information from the Indian High Commission in Colombo that 5 of them died. We are waiting for information on two others," Karnataka Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar told IANS here.
The five who died in one of the blasts are Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh, K.M. Lakshminarayan, M. Rangappa, K.G. Hanumantharayappa and Narayan Chandra.
"We don't have information yet on the other two. We are in touch with our High Commission people to ascertain the whereabouts of the missing two workers," added Bhaskar.
The party workers went to Sri Lanka on a holiday on April 20 after the first phase of polling on April 18 in the state's southern region, including Bengaluru.
They hailed from Nelamangala in Tumkur district, about 50 km northeast of Bengaluru.
"They were committed workers of our party and their deaths have brought sorrow to us," state Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy tweeted in Kannada.
"The members were staying in one of the hotels (Shangri La) where the terror attacks took place. We are checking in which of the hotels they were staying," party spokesman Ramesh Babu told IANS.
Kumaraswamy said he knew the victims personally.
Bhaskar said another group of visitors from the state was returning to Bengaluru from Kandy on Monday night.
Condemning the blasts, JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda said the heinous attack had disturbed peace and tranquillity in the region.
"Unless terrorism is rooted out, there won't be pace in the world. As terrorism has become a global menace, our country should fight it and stand with countries confronting it head-on," Gowda said in a tweet in Kannada.
Mourning the party cadres who lost their life in the terror blasts, the former Prime Minster said of late many Indians were going to Sri Lanka as tourists even from Bengaluru.
"I spoke to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj about the blast and the fate of other two party activists who went missing," added Gowda in a statement here.
Gowda also expressed condolence to the bereaved families.
--IANS
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