There appears to be no justification for the claim the bombings in Sri Lanka were revenge for the Christchurch mosque shootings.

290 people have died and 500 are hurt after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in the South Asian island country.

They happened on Easter Sunday at churches and hotels in three cities.

A State of Emergency is in force, which gives the Government more powers to interrogate or keep suspects without having to charge them.

Sri Lanka correspondent Lisa Fuller told Mike Yardley there had to be a controlled explosion after a bomb was found in a van outside one of the churches that were attacked.

"The bomb squad were called in, but it sent panic through the streets with the public believing there was another bombing."

"Tourists at one of the major hotels were at 70 percent occupancy before the bombings, they have now gone down to four percent." 

Fuller says the Defence Secretary has admitted the Government was given prior warning but didn't have enough details to take action to prevent it.

She says a lot of government ministers and officials have criticised the establishment and intelligence forces for not handling that information responsibly.

"What's come out is the Prime Minister was never given that information as a result of fractures within the Government, particularly a rupture in the relationship between the Prime Minister and the President.

"A Sri Lankan organisation is suspected to be behind this. It's suspected they had international support as the bombs were extremely well planned and coordinated. But an exact motive has yet to be established."