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Two teenage Westminster Synagogue members named among victims of Sri Lanka bombings
Daniel Linsey, 19, and Amelie Linsey, 15, were among the eight Britons killed in the suicide bombings in Colombo on Sunday
April 24, 2019 14:44
Daniel Linsey, 19, and Amelie Linsey, 15, were among the eight Britons killed in the suicide bombings in Colombo on Sunday
April 24, 2019 14:44Tributes have been paid to a Jewish brother and sister who were among more than 300 people killed in Easter Sunday's bombings in Sri Lanka.
Daniel and Amelie Linsey, who were members of Westminster Synagogue, were among eight Britons killed in the attack.
Shul president Lord Leigh paid tribute to them in the House of Lords on Wednesday.
He noted Amelie had been batmizvah there just last March, "reading with poise, maturity and warmth from our Torah scrolls"
He said Daniel was "especially interested in Jewish festivals" and had helped the synagogue to prepare for Purim.
"We have pledged as a community to offer our love and support and do everything we can every step of the way," he said.
"The Jewish community is used to counselling mourners who have been affected by a terrorist bomb. This is another chapter in that sad and sorry book."
Their brother David Linsey, 21, called Daniel "the kindest person I have ever known."
He told Sky News his "passion was volunteering” and he “lived entirely for others."
Daniel, 19, and Amelie, 15, from London, were killed on the last day of their holiday.
They were with their father Matthew Linsey, at the Shangri-La Hotel, when the building was targeted by bombers.
In an emotional interview with CNN, Mr Linsey, an American-born investment banker, described how he and his children ran from the restaurant when the first bomb went off, but Daniel and Amelie were killed in a second blast.
“It is hard to describe there was like a wave of pressure,” he said.
“My children were so nice they actually had gone down to the buffet before me and got the food for me. I wanted more to drink and my daughter said ‘I will get it’ and then the bomb went off and they were running towards me.
“I knew there would be another bomb because there always is with these things and another bomb went off. My instinct was to get out, but maybe I should have shielded them with my body.”
He said after the second bomb went off the pair seemed to be unconscious.
“My daughter seemed to be moving and my son wasn’t. A woman offered to take my daughter downstairs to the ambulance. I needed help moving my son, someone helped me move him down the stairs.”
Mr Linsey said they were rushed to the same hospital and lost his voice from “yelling for help” as his son received CPR.
“They did their best,” he said.
Dr Frances Ramsey head mistress at Godolphin and Latymer School said the school and pupils were “shocked” to learn Amelie, who was a Year 10 pupil there, was among those killed.
“Our thoughts are with her family at this desperately sad time,” she said.
“We are doing our best to support our students and staff as we come to terms with the terrible events which have taken place.
Daniel Linsey was a pupil at Westminster Kingsway College.
Kim Caplin, principal of the College said he “was extremely popular. He joined us in September having completed his first year at another college. He was happy at this college and was planning to start university in October.”
Ms Caplin said the staff and students were all “shocked and saddened” by his death.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this terrible time, and we are offering counselling and support to those students and staff who knew him,” she added.
As well as their father and brother David, Daniel and Amelie are survived by their mother Angelina, 51, and brother Ethan, 12.
According to police, the death toll from the wave of attacks on churches and hotels in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa has risen to 321, with around 500 people injured.
