NAGAPATTINAM: A fishing boat from Nagapattinam district was allegedly rammed and capsized by a Sri Lankan naval craft near Kodiyakarai on Tuesday evening. The four fishermen on board were rescued and brought ashore by other fishermen in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to sources, the group, consisting of K. Sakthivel (40), R. Devaraj (32), S. Karthikeyan (46), and S. Sathish (36) from Seruthur, departed for fishing in a motorised boat registered under M. Dharman (55) on Tuesday morning.
The group was a few nautical miles southeast of Kodiyakarai (Point Calimere) at around 5 pm when the Sri Lankan Navy allegedly approached them.
S. Karthikeyan, one of the fishermen, said, "We were about to deploy our nets when we saw the Sri Lankan vessel in the distance. They asked us to slow down. We did, but they rammed us with force. Our boat capsized instantly and we were thrown into the water."
The fishing nets and equipment, such as GPS, transceivers, iceboxes, and mobile phones, were lost as the boat capsized. The fishermen also suffered multiple injuries due to the collision.
"After the boat capsized, we became stuck in our nets underwater and struggled to surface for minutes. The Sri Lankans helped us to board their vessel. They interrogated us until the other fishing boats arrived," said K. Sakthivel.
The naval personnel eventually let the fishermen go as a couple of motorised boats from Seruthur and a boat from Karaikal arrived nearby. Then, the personnel left the scene.
The fishermen in the other boats took the affected fishermen on board. They helped to reposition the capsized boat, which had suffered catastrophic damage in the impact. A group tethered the damaged boat to theirs and set their course towards Seruthur.
Sathish decided to stay back and search for the lost fishing nets with another group in their motorised boat. Sakthivel, Karthikeyan, and Devaraj returned to Seruthur on Wednesday at around 3 am.
The injured fishermen informed the village representatives and gave a statement to the Coastal Security Group upon arrival. They were then sent to Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital for treatment.
The Seruthur fisherfolk condemned the Sri Lankan aggression and declared a fishing strike. An inquiry is underway at the Marine Police Station in Vedaranyam. TFDC Chairperson N. Gowthaman and officials from the Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Department inspected the boat and met the fishermen at the hospital. Further investigation is ongoing.