British father pays emotional tribute to wife and children who were killed in Sri Lanka attack

A father whose entire family were killed in the alleged terror attack in Sri Lanka has paid an emotional tribute to his children and his wife.

Ben Nicholson (43) confirmed that his wife, Anita (42), son Alex (14) and daughter Annabel (11) were killed during breakfast at a table in the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo on Easter Sunday.

Ben, a British lawyer, is the only one of his family to survive the attack.

Ben told Telegraph that "all three of them died instantly and with no pain or suffering".

The mother and her kids were on the second floor of the luxury hotel when two suicide bombers walked in and blew themselves up as part of eight co-ordinated attacks which killed 310 people.

Ben expressed that he's deeply distressed at the loss of his wife and children, in a statement released by the UK Foreign Office.

"Anita was a wonderful, perfect wife and a brilliant, loving and inspirational mother to our two wonderful children.

"Alex and Annabel were the most amazing, intelligent, talented and thoughtful children.

"They shared with their mother the priceless ability to light up any room they entered and bring joy to the lives of all they came into contact with."

Speaking to Daily Mail, a medic at National Hospital in Colombo described how she saw Ben searching desperately for his relatives.

"I saw him covered in blood, walking up and down just there.

"He spoke to me twice, asking about his family. He wasn't running or crying, he was shocked. We wondered whether he was confused but he seemed in control. He just kept asking about his family members."

The couple worked as lawyers based in Singapore and were in the country for a family holiday at the time of the attack, according to Daily Mail.

Ben went on to thank the medical teams at General Hospital, Colombo, for treating Anita, Alex and Annabel with great dignity and him with kindness and sympathy.

"Anita, Alex and Annabel leave behind a large extended family and many close and cherished friends who are now grieving this tragic loss," he said.

"We shall all miss them dearly. We're all grateful for the many expressions of support and good wishes."

Sources: Daily Mail, Telegraph, The Guardian