Colombo: A total of 176 children have lost either one or both their parents during the Easter Sunday attacks that killed 258 people, a media report quoted the head of Sri Lanka's Catholic Church as saying.

A total of 7 suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts that targeted three churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on April 21. The attacks injured 500 people.

"One hundred and seventy six children have lost either both or one of their parents in the bombings that took place on April 21. The church is focusing on these groups to help them recover and return to normalcy," Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror on Monday.