15 fishermen held by SL arrive in Chennai airport

Fifteen fishermen from Rameswaram who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Coast Guards in February returned to Chennai on Friday morning. On February 8, when they were in the middle of the sea, the Sri Lankan coastal guards surrounded the fishermen and seized their boats. They were arrested for crossing the border. Soon, the families of all the fishermen requested the state and central governments to bring them back to India. On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan government released the fishermen and handed them over to the Indian Embassy, which issued emergency certificates to them. On Friday, around 4.20 am, they reached Chennai airport onboard Air India flight. After immigration inquiry, the fishermen were allowed to exit at 7 am. They were welcomed by officials from the fisheries department outside the airport, who arranged transport for them to travel to Rameswaram.