Two British wounded in Sri Lanka landmine blast

Two Britons were wounded, one critically, when a land mine blast killed 12 Sri Lankan sailors today.

A bus carrying the sailors on New Year holidays was hit by a mine planted by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in the north-east. Eight others were wounded, the military said.

Two British tourists, who were in another vehicle, were also wounded in the explosion, said Jagath Malwatte, a doctor who was attending them.

One of them is in a critical condition. Their names were not immediately known.

They were being transferred to Colombo, he said.

The Claymore mine, which can be detonated by remote control, exploded as the bus was travelling from the port town of Trincomalee to the capital, Colombo, said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.

Samarasinghe blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the blast.