New Delhi: In a collision between an Indian fishing boat and a Sri Lankan vessel five nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island on Thursday, August 1, an Indian fisherman from Tamil Nadu lost his life and another went missing, Indian external affairs ministry said.
There were a total of four fishermen aboard the Indian boat. Of the four, two of them were rescued and brought ashore to Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka. A search operation is underway for the missing fisherman, a press statement from the external affairs ministry said.
“Indian Consulate Officials in Jaffna have been instructed to immediately rush to Kankesanthurai and extend all possible assistance to the fishermen and their families,” the press statement said.
New Delhi registered its strong protest by summoning the Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner in India to the Ministry of External Affairs office. “We expressed our shock and anguish at the unfortunate loss of life. Our High Commissioner in Colombo will also be raising the matter with the Sri Lankan government later today,” the statement added.
This is the second such collision in recent times. In the previous incident, a Sri Lankan naval sailor was killed. Sri Lanka had registered its protests with India over the death of its sailor, adding that the sailor was killed during an operation to seize an Indian trawler allegedly engaged in illegal fishing in the island nation’s territorial waters. The Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Delhi at that time, Kshenuka Seneviratne, had conveyed the message to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar.
India has maintained that fishermen issues between the two countries should be dealt with in a “humane and humanitarian manner”. “Existing understandings between the two Governments in that regard must be strictly observed. Utmost efforts should be made to ensure that there is no recurrence or resort to the use of force,” the Indian government press note said.
“Government attaches the highest priority to the safety and security of Indian fishermen. Issues relating to Indian fishermen have been raised regularly at the highest levels with the Sri Lankan leadership,” the statement added.
