A Sri Lankan naval ship reportedly rammed a fishing boat from Tamil Nadu on the high seas near Katchatheevu island and let it sink with seven fishermen from Ramanathapuram district on board. The incident happened late Wednesday night.
However, after the fishermen raised a distress alarm, another fishing boat rescued them.
According to president of All Mechanised Boat Fishermen’s Association, P. Sesuraja, 450 fishing boats from Rameswaram ventured into the Bay of Bengal at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday.“These days our fishermen are going out for fishing only for two days a week fearing arrest/attack by the Sri Lankan Navy,” he said.
When the fishermen, on board a mechanised boat belonging to S.P. Vasthiyan of Thangachimadam, were involved in fishing near Katchatheevu, a Sri Lankan Naval ship rammed it around 10.30 p.m.
“The fishing boat developed cracks and sea water started to enter the boat. When the boat started to sink with seven fishermen, the naval ship left,” Mr. Sesuraja said.
However, the fishermen raised an alarm and alerted fellow fishermen over walkie-talkie and all of them were rescued by another fishing boat and brought back to shore on Thursday morning.
Mr. Sesuraja said the livelihood of Tamil Nadu fishermen had been badly hit by the frequent attacks and arrests by Sri Lankan Navy.“We have been demanding the Centre and the State to take efforts for talks between fishermen from India and Sri Lanka for a peaceful solution,” he added.
