4 killed as Lanka patrol vessel hits TN fishing boat

■ 3 Indian fishermen die in mid-sea collision with Lanka naval boat

Fishermen here launched a black flag protest against a tragedy in which four fishermen from Kottaipattinam drowned in the sea as their fishing vessel was allegedly hit deliberately by a Sri Lankan naval patrol vessel near Neduntheevu (Delft Island), in Palk Strait. Bodies of two of the fishermen were retrieved, while search is on for the other two.

A “shocked” India on Thursday lodged a “strong protest” with Sri Lankan foreign minister Dinesh Gunawardena in Colombo and also issued a “strong demarche” to the acting high commissioner in New Delhi following the death of three Indian fishermen and a Sri Lankan national in a “collision” between their vessel and a Sri Lankan naval craft.

New Delhi also said it emphasised to Colombo the “need to deal with issues pertaining to fishermen in a humanitarian manner”, adding that “utmost efforts should be made (by Sri Lanka) to ensure that there is no recurrence” of such incidents.

The tragic incident reportedly took place three days ago, after which the Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday recovered the bodies of the four deceased.

According to media reports from Chennai, the Indian Tamil fishermen claim that the Sri Lankan

Navy deliberately rammed into a fishing boat, resulting in the deaths.

The Sri Lankan Navy has reportedly claimed that it was the fishing boat that collided with its naval craft after the Indian fishermen were resisting arrest for fishing in the Sri Lankan waters.

According to these media reports from Chennai, the incident took place in the wee hours of Monday when nearly 1,000 fishermen on 200 boats were travelling from Kottaipattinam (in Tamil Nadu) for fishing. The media reports further said that the fishermen alleged that the Sri Lankan Navy harassed them near Neduntheevu (Sri Lanka) when they were trying to return following which the tragic incident took place.

Much to India’s dismay, such an incident has occurred despite external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar’s three-day visit to the island nation just earlier this month and his talks with both his Sri Lankan counterpart as well as Sri Lankan fisheries minister Douglas

Devananda.

In a statement on Thursday, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said, “We are shocked at the unfortunate loss of lives of three Indian fishermen and one Sri Lankan national following a collision between their vessel and a Sri Lankan naval craft. Our strong protest in regard to this incident was conveyed by our high commissioner to the Sri Lankan foreign minister today. A strong demarche was also made to the Sri Lankan acting high commissioner in New Delhi.