2 TN fishers critical afterattack by SL pirates

TIRUCHY: Eight fishermen from Nagapattinam suffered serious injuries, and their equipment and catch were snatched away, after a suspected Sri Lankan gang attacked a group of 28 fishers with lethal weapons in mid-sea in the wee hours of Tuesday.

A group of around 50 fishermen Arukattu Thurai and Pushpavanam near Vedaranyam ventured into the sea on five mechanised boats on Monday afternoon. While they were fishing about 22 nautical miles off Arukattu Thurai, a 15-member gang, allegedly Lankan pirates, on five fibre boats jumped onto their boats and attacked them. They then snatched their equipment like GPS, walkie-talkie, and fishing nets and escaped.

Of the 28 men who were injured, eight of them sustained serious injuries on their heads. Officials said J Baskar (53), G Arulraj (40), G Arulvel (30), N Subramanian (65), G Vetrivel (50), S Senthilarasan (35), R Marudu (24) and M Vinod (33) from Vedaranyam were rushed to Vedaranyam GH. Later, Baskar and Arulraj were referred to Nagapattinam GH, where they are undergoing treatment in ICU.

The Vedaranyam Coastal Security Group personnel were informed about the incident, and Nagapattinam Collector Johny Tom Varghese visited the fishermen at the two hospitals. He assured them that the best possible treatment would be extended to them, and compensation would be provided.

The fishermen’s associations appealed to the State government to find a permanent solution to the issue that has hit their livelihood. The government here should put pressure on the Centre to hold diplomatic talks with Sri Lanka to arrive at a solution, they said.