Members of the Sri Lankan Navy have rescued and brought to shore two fishermen who were seriously injured after their fishing vessel was attacked by suspected pirates far offshore of the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka.
According to reports by the Sri Lankan Navy, two Sri Lankan fishermen were critically injured, with three others still missing after a suspected pirate attack off Sri Lanka’s coast. The two injured men were part of a group of five fishermen who embarked on a multiple day fishing trip on their trawler. They left from the Kudawella Fisheries Harbor on the South coast of Sri Lanka on Sunday the 14th of October. Later that day, the vessel was accosted by a group of ten suspected pirates in a small speed boat, armed with automatic weapons. The pirates boarded the fishing vessel and threw all five fishermen into the ocean, according to police spokesperson Pishantha Jayakody.
Two of the fishermen were discovered and rescued by commercial vessels, the MV Edith Maersk and the MV Lusail far offshore of the south east coast, according to the Southern Province Minister of Fisheries, DV Upul. The fishermen were then passed on to the Navy, who brought them safely back to shore on the Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessel, the SLNS Jayasagara.
The injured men, who had been assaulted and stabbed several times, received emergency medical treatment and resuscitation on board the Jayasagara, and were taken to Galle Harbor where they were handed on to the Galle Harbor Police for further management. The men were transported to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle where they are currently receiving treatment and remain in a critical condition.
The Navy and Police have commended the two commercial vessels that initially rescued the fishermen, as the initial action that they took onboard their vessels may well have saved the men’s lives.
The other three fishermen who were thrown overboard are still missing. The Navy and Sri Lankan Coast Guard will be conducting a search and rescue for the men this week, and alerts have been broadcast to vessels in the area to be wary of pirate activity and keep their eye out for the stolen vessel. The captain of the trawler appears to have fled with the suspected pirates.
Fishing is a major source of income for those living in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Last year, there were several reports of Sri Lankan fishing vessels being hijacked by Somali pirates.
