The first mass funeral has begun in Sri Lanka as the death toll of the attacks on churches and hotels has increased to 310.

On Tuesday (Apr 23) the country has observed three minutes of silence amid a state of emergency in effect to prevent further attacks, reports BBC.

Sri Lanka's government has blamed the blasts on local Islamist group National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ).

Police have now detained 40 suspects in connection with the attack, BBC quoted a spokesman as saying.

The mass funeral took place at St Sebastian's church in Negombo, north of Colombo, which was one of the places targeted in Sunday's blasts.

Earlier, a moment of silence was observed at 08:30 local time, reflecting the time the first of six bombs detonated.

Flags were lowered to half mast and people bowed their heads in silence in respect to the victims as well as the 500 people injured during the attacks, the report adds.

The state of emergency gives police and the military sweeping powers to detain and interrogate suspects without court orders - powers that were last used during the nation's civil war.

The government blocked access to Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram after the blasts.

NTJ, the group named by the government as the main suspect, has no history of large-scale attacks but came to prominence last year when it was blamed for damaging Buddhist statues.

However, neither NTJ, nor any other group, has admitted carrying out Sunday's bombings.