NAGAPATTINAM: A group of fishersmen from the district on Wednesday rescued two Sri Lankan fishermen who were allegedly stranded at sea following a boat snag. The Coastal Security Group (CSG) has secured the two.
According to sources, a group of three fishermen, including T Nallathambi of Arukatuthurai in Vedaranyam block, found two in a motorised boat a couple of nautical miles east of their village. They recognised that the other boat was not from their village and held enquiries.
The duo on the boat identified themselves to the group as fishers T Michael Fernando Thiruselvam (44) and Vijayakumar Nagalingam (45) from Analaitivu islet in Jaffna district of Sri Lanka. The two, who conversed in Tamil, requested the Arukatuthurai fishers to help them reach shore.
Nallathambi and his crew then directed the Sri Lankans to anchor their boat at the spot and took them aboard in their own motorised boat. The fisher group along with the Sri Lankans landed at Arukatuthurai around 2.30 pm. On arrival, the Arukatuthurai fishers informed the CSG following which the personnel held inquiries with the Sri Lankans.
During inquiry, the two Sri Lankans claimed that they left Analaitivu for fishing on the evening of June 10. Their boat engine developed a snag within an hour, they said, adding that they then drifted across the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) into Indian waters.
A case has been registered against the two Sri Lankans at Vedaranyam Marine Police Station as they crossed the IMBL. They would be produced before the metropolitan magistrate court in Chennai in a day, sources said.