THOOTHUKUDI: At least five Indians including three from Thoothukudi district have been abducted on November 6 allegedly by an armed group linked to an insurgency group at Kobri in the west African country of Mali.
According to official sources, the victims have been identified as P Ponnudurai (41) of Naraikinaru, S Puthiyavan (52) of Kodiankulam and M Petchimuthi (42) of Kalappaipatti in Thoothukudi, and Esakkiraja (36) and Thalapathy Suresh (26) of Kadayanallur in Tenkasi district.
The workers were intercepted by the insurgency group allegedly linked to Al-qaeda and Islamic state terror outfits, when they were in their camp after work. The employers and the officials of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have been alerted and steps are on to secure their release, sources added.
The workers were employed by a Chennai based electrical company, said sources adding they reached Mali six months ago. The victims had spoken to their family in Thoothukudi on Wednesday and Thursday. Following the incident, other Indian workers have been moved to safe locations, sources added.
A relative of the victim who spoke to TNIE on condition of anonymity, said that the state and union government must take all necessary steps to rescue the workers safely. "We will approach district collector and other officials for safe rescual of our family members", he said.