12 Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by SL coast guards arrive home

CHENNAI: 12 Tamilnadu fishermen who were arrested by the Srilankan coastal guards arrived at the Chennai airport on Friday.

On March 3, the fishermen while fishing in the sea were surrounded by the Srilankan coastal guards and were arrested for crossing the border. The 12 fishermen were sent to prison by the Srilankan government and their boats were seized.

Following the arrest, families requested the Tamilnadu CM and the Central government to release the fishermen at the earliest. Later on May 12 the fishermen were released from the prison and were handed to the Indian Embassy.

The fishermen were asked to appear for the COVID test and later they were issued an emergency visa and reached the Chennai airport in the wee hours of Friday on the Air India flight.

The fishermen were allowed to exit at 7 am after completing the immigration checkup and they were welcomed by the officials of the Fisheries department from the State government. The officials arranged transport for all the fishermen to their native in Rameswaram.