Two die as blast rips Shahrukh Concert in Colombo

The blast ripped through the stands just as Shahrukh Khan ended a three-hour performance on Saturday.

The Indian star and his troupe were unharmed, police said, quoted by the Agency France Press news agency.

Doctors said all the victims appeared to be members of the audience, most of them injured by shrapnel.

Buddhist leaders had objected to the event being staged on the anniversary of the death of a popular monk.

Their followers had earlier clashed with police who used teargas, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse them near the venue.

Event of the year

“Two people were dead when they were brought in,” a doctor at the Colombo national hospital told AFP.

“There are another 15 injured admitted. They all have shrapnel injuries caused by a hand-grenade or a hand bomb.”

The performance was billed as Sri Lanka’s biggest musical event of the year, with 20,000 people expected to attend.

Buddhist monks had planned a peaceful protest during the performance, but they called it off after receiving a written apology from Mr Khan about the bad timing of the concert.

More than a dozen protesters who attacked cars and concert-goers were arrested.

Mr. Khan began his concert by observing a minute’s silence in memory of monk Gangodawila Soma who died a year ago.

The concert went ahead under tight security, with fans searched at four points before being allowed into the venue.

The area had earlier been inspected by anti-terrorism agents and police sniffer dogs.

An investigation has been launched but police have ruled out Tamil Tiger involvement.