Update to the news release on ‘Navy in search and rescue operation to locate fishermen on sunken Indian poaching vessel in Sri Lankan waters’ on 21st January 2021

The 04 corpses of fishermen of the sunken Indian fishing trawler were handed over to the Indian Coast Guard at the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) around 10.00 a.m. today (23rd January 2021).

SLN launched a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation in search of missing fishermen of the Indian poaching vessel which sank in Sri Lankan waters on 18th January following a mid-sea collision. The SAR operation ultimately led to the recovery of 04 corpses of fishermen victimized by the incident. At the autopsy, it was revealed that three corpses were of Indian nationals and the remaining one was of a person with Sri Lankan origin, who lived in India.

Subsequent to the legal proceedings initiated by the Magistrate Court of Mallakam, the 04 corpses had been formally handed over to the Consulate General Office of India in Jaffna, where on request of the Consulate General Office, Sri Lanka Navy assisted to hand over the 04 corpses to India. As such, the deceased were transferred by a Sri Lanka Coast Guard craft and handed them over to the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Atulya at the IMBL today.

All these measures were carried out adhering to strict safety and health guidelines stipulated by health authorities due to COVID-19 concerns.