NAGAPATTINAM: A total of 23 fishermen from Nagapattinam who ventured into the sea in four groups were attacked by suspected Sri Lankan pirates late on Friday. At least 16 men were involved in the attack, sources said. The pirates attacked the TN fishers with iron rods and other weapons, and decamped with motors, GPS device, other equipment and the catch. The fishers reached the coast after paddling for hours. While five of the injured fishermen are undergoing treatment at Nagapattinam GH, 12 of them are being treated at Nagapattinam Medical College Hospital. Six were treated as outpatients.
The first group of five fishermen from Akkaraipettai—Anand (37), Murali (38), Saminathan (30), Vetrivel (38), and Anabarasn (36) — was fishing 30 nautical miles off Kodiyakarai coast on a fibre boat on May 2 when it was attacked by six men who came in two Sri Lankan boats. The attackers decamped with two mobile phones, a walkie-talkie and GPS equipment. The injured fishermen who reached the Nagapattinam fishing jetty on Saturday were admitted to Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital for treatment. The Nagapattinam Marine Police have registered a case.
Four fishermen from Arukatuthurai —Thangadurai (44), Jagatheesan (44), Arun pandian (42), Mahesh (43) — were fishing on Friday at 15 nautical miles off the coast of Arukatuthurai.
Injured fishermen admitted to Nagapattinam govt hosp
A gang of 10 members who came in two Sri Lankan boats attacked the fishermen and decamped with fishing nets, GPS equipment and mobile phones. The four fishermen returned to Arukattuthurai coast on Saturday.
Another group of fishermen from Vellapallam near Vedaranyam — Praveen (24), Pradeepan (22), Kuttiyandi (40), Vishal (21) and Natheesh (21) — ventured into the sea on Friday and were fishing 15 nautical miles off the Arukattuthurai coast when they were attacked by a six-member gang that came in four boats. The gang dumped the fishers’ 50kg fishing net into sea and decamped with two outboard engines, three mobile phones, a walkie-talkie and GPS equipment.
The fishermen reached the Vellapallam coast on Saturday morning and lodged a complaint with Vedaranyam Marine Police.
The injured were admitted to Nagapattinam GH. Similarly, two groups of fishermen from Seruthur were fishing off the coast of Kodiyakarai on Friday when two gangs in two separate boats attacked them. In this attack, nine fishermen from Seruthur —Sakthivel (33), Elayaraja (45), Kaliyamurthy (48), Sakthivel (33), Sarkunam (38), Suganthan (39), Viswanathan (27), Soosairaj (55), Yesudas (40) — were injured.