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| The coffin of deceased Indian fisherman was handed over to Indian authorities on Friday by Sri Lankan Cost Guard and Navy personnel. |
By S Rubatheesan
It was around 9.30 pm on Friday at Kankesanturai naval jetty where a Sri Lankan Navy vessel left the shore with a coffin onboard carrying a deceased Indian fisherman along with two other Indian fishermen who met a tragic accident on Wednesday.
The body of another Indian fisherman is yet to be found even though the Navy have deployed separate teams for search and rescue operations since Wednesday. Senior officials attached to the Consulate General of India in Jaffna were also present at the jetty to ensure the Indian fishermen were repatriated safely.
The Lankan vessel handed over the coffin and rescued fishermen to Indian authorities near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The two rescued fishermen were released without being subjected to the usual legal proceedings.
The sinking of an Indian bottom trawler in the Lankan territorial sea caused diplomatic tensions across the Palk Strait this week.
According to the Navy, it deployed one of its vessels off Delft Island after noticing a significant number of Indian bottom trawlers engaged in fishing in Lankan territorial waters on its radars.
During the Navy’s efforts to seize some of the Indian fishing trawlers poaching in Sri Lankan waters, the trawlers attempted to evade the Navy with aggressive manoeuvres, defying the Navy’s orders.
During this incident, a trawler continued on its course after colliding with a naval craft. Moments later, the Navy observed the trawler capsizing and sinking, according to a statement issued by the Navy on the incident.
Thereafter, the Navy launched a search and rescue operation for four Indian fishermen and rescued three fishermen. Among them, one was in critical condition and was admitted to the Punguduthivu Hospital in Jaffna for treatment where he was pronounced dead upon admission.
Amidst rough seas and strong winds, the other fisherman, who was floating with a lifebelt, disappeared into the sea before Naval craft could rescue him, the statement said.
On Friday (2), fishermen unions in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu declared an indefinite strike condemning the incident and what they called “continuing attacks by Sri Lanka Navy on Indian fishermen in mid-sea.”
However, Navy Spokesperson Captain Gayan Wickramasooriya rejected the allegations leveled against the Sri Lanka Navy by Indian fishermen saying that “aggressive manoeuvres” practised by massive mechanised Indian bottom trawlers led to this kind of unfortunate incidents which resulted in loss of lives.
“We always try to treat Indian fishermen as a humanitarian operation but they tend to resort to aggressive manoeuvres which lead to ramming or collision incidents mid-sea,” Captain Wickramasooriya told the Sunday Times while stressing a recent incident where such a similar incident led to the death of a Lankan Naval officer on board a vessel in June.
On June 25, the sailor succumbed to his injuries after he was badly injured from a collision involving an Indian bottom trawler with 10 fishermen onboard in Kankesanturai (KKS), Jaffna.
Meanwhile, India’s External Affairs Ministry also summoned the Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi to register a “strong protest” over the incident involving the death of an Indian fisherman in the Lankan sea.
“We expressed our shock and anguish at the unfortunate loss of life.” It is learnt that the Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner had pointed out the need for an early settlement on the illegal fishing issue. (The Sunday Times)
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