Sri Lankan fishing vessel 'Win Marine' that took two Indian Coast Guard sailors hostage on Wednesday, was damaged in a fire last night in the Bay of Bengal.
Sri Lankan fishing vessel 'Win Marine' that took two Indian Coast Guard sailors hostage on Wednesday, was damaged in a fire last night in the Bay of Bengal. The Navy was looking for survivors there.
"At about 2345 hours (December 11), the fishing vessel was observed to be on fire...it was observed that the boat’s upper decks were ablaze and therefore, we commenced search for possible survivors in the vicinity," Navy spokesperson Commander PV Satish said here.
He added that a Dornier reconnaissance aircraft was also launched to augment the search effort by ships at dawn on December 12, but it had return to base due to inclement weather.
"Search for the survivors has been temporarily called off due to the very adverse weather in the area," Satish added.
The two CG personnel had been taken hostage by the three fishermen onboard 'Win Marine' on the night of December 9/10. They were released yesterday afternoon on the intervention of the Indian Navy. However, the three fishermen refused to be apprehended by the Navy.
The two ships 'Priyadarshini' and 'Sarang' had apprehended seven Sri Lankan fishing vessels on December 8 including 'Win Marine, which slipped away in the night of December 9/10 with the sailors guarding it.
The spokesperson said a Naval warship and Sri Lankan authorities were trying to convince the fishing vessel to follow it to an Indian port but despite repeated efforts, the vessel did not comply with the advice. It stopped in a position approximately 100 nm east of Chennai at 2230 hours after which it was seen on fire around midnight.
Meanwhile, two Coast Guard ships are escorting six other Sri Lankan fishing boats and are likely to enter Kakinada port on the night of December 12/13. The boats and fishermen will be handed over to the local police for further action.
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