Indian Coast Guard Sunday repatriated 19 Indian fishermen, taking the total number of those repatriated to over 500 in the first three months of 2014.
ICG ship Abheek took 19 fishermen and four boats from Sri Lanka at the Indo-Lanka Maritime Boundary Line and the repatriated crew was brought to Rameswaram and handed over to local authorities.
"The Indian Coast Guard in the eastern region has so far repatriated 100 IFB (Indian Fishing Boats) with 530 crew in the first three months of the year 2014," a Coast Guard release here said.
It said the force not only provides solace to fishermen and mariners in distress, but also provides humanitarian assistance to the fishermen of both the countries by undertaking regular repatriation.