Sri Lankan fisherman rescued by Indian fishers in mid-sea

Chennai: A group of Tamil Nadu fishermen have rescued a Sri Lankan fisher, who was stuck in the international waters after his boat developed a snag, and brought him to the Nagapattinam fishing harbour on Friday. 

The heartwarming incident came a day after an Indian fisherman from Rameswaram island was killed and another went missing after a collision with a patrol vehicle of the Sri Lankan Navy which was chasing their trawlers. 

Sources in the fishermen community told DH that their peers from Akkaraipettai in Nagapattinam district found a fibre boat floating in the mid-seas with a person onboard near their trawler. “These fishermen were involved in deep sea fishing and found the Sri Lankan boat, whose only occupant was unconscious,” a source said. 

The fishermen brought the person stuck in the sea, now identified as Ahmed Irfan of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka, to Nagapattinam and handed him over to personnel of the Coastal Security Group. The sources said Irfan and another fisherman set out in their boat from Trincomalee 10 days ago. 

“He told us that the other fisherman jumped in the sea saying he would swim to the shore and get help. He is clueless as to what happened to him,” the sources added. 

The Sri Lankan fisherman was provided medical assistance and a case was registered against him. He is likely to be produced before a court in Chennai.