A Denver man visiting Sri Lanka on a business trip was killed Sunday in the terrorist attacks thatclaimed the lives of at least 290 peoplein hotels and places of worship across the country, PEOPLE confirms.
Dieter Kowalski, 40, had just arrived at the Cinnamon Grand hotel in the capital city of Colombo when the explosion occurred, one of six that simultaneously rocked three luxury hotels and three churches.
The Wisconsin native was a senior technical operation head at Pearson, and worked as a liaison between engineering and product teams in Sri Lanka, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“I’m sorry to have to share the awful news that our colleague, Dieter Kowalski, was killed yesterday in the Easter Sunday atrocities in Colombo, Sri Lanka,” Fallon wrote. “Dieter had just arrived at his hotel, where many of our colleagues have stayed over the years, when he was killed in an explosion.”
Fallon said Kowalski was in town for “an action-packed week” to troubleshoot problems with local engineering teams in Sri Lanka.
“He was excited about the chance to meet again in person, some two and a half years after his last trip, with Sri Lankan colleagues who had become good friends,” he wrote. “Our Sri Lankan colleagues were very much looking forward to seeing him, too.”
St. Sebastian’s Church.Chamila Karunarathne/AP/REX/Shutterstock
St. Anthony’s Shrine.Chamila Karunarathne/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Kowalski had previously expressed his excitement for the trip onFacebook, writing in a post, Friday, “And the fun begins. Love these work trips. 24 hours of flying. See you soon Sri Lanka!”
Dieter’s brother Derrick Kowalski also confirmed his death, commenting on the Facebook post, “It is with great sadness and deep regret that as Dieter’s brother that I confirm that Dieter was among the victims that passed away in Sri Lanka. As we know that Dieter saw his friends as family, we would like to share our grief over this tragic incident. More information to follow. We have all lost a brother today… RIP Dieter.”
The Cinnamon Grand previously confirmed toNBC Newsthat Kowalski was staying there, and was unaccounted for in the wake of the bombing.
The hotel said in a statement the explosion occurred in its ground floor restaurant, the Taprobane.
Kowalski is one of 39 foreign tourists killed in the attacks, Sri Lanka’s minister of tourism John Amaratunga said, according to theAssociated Press. An additional 28 were wounded.
The Associated Press reports that an additional explosion went off Monday in a van that had been parked near St. Anthony’s Shrine since Sunday.
Police inspecting the vehicle reportedly found three bombs that detonated as they attempted to defuse them.
source: people.com
