In a shocking incident, a couple of fishermen were injured as the Sri Lankan navy allegedly started firing at a fishing crew who attempted to go out to sea from Karaikal in the wee hours of Wednesday.

There was a nine-member crew out of which two fishermen were injured hailing from Nagapattinam and Karaikal fishing hamlets who came back to Karaikal shores by Thursday early morning. The injured were to Puducherry hospitals for treatment. The condition of the victims is said to be stable.

Sources said that "about nine fishermen identified as Tamilmani, Dinesh alias Balamurugan (22), Aravindh (27), Veeramuthu, Kanagaraj, Vijayakumar, Manimurugan, Saravanan, and Karthik had left Karaikal fishing harbour on November 12 in a mechanised boat belonging to one Sellamuthu, native of Kilinjalmedu hamlet in Karaikal."

"In the wee hours of Wednesday, as they were fishing in the south-east direction off Kodiyakkarai, Nagapattinam, the Sri Lankan navy intercepted their fishing vessel and opened fire indiscriminately at them," the fishermen said.

In the mid-sea firing incident, Dineshan alias Balamurugan, a native of Karaikal, and Aravindh, a native of Nambiyar Nagar in Nagapattinam got injured with the bullet on their shoulders and hip respectively, and the fishing gear was destroyed. The fishing boat bore bullet marks and was lightly broken in the firing.

Upon reaching the mainland early morning on, the two injured fishermen were rushed by their counterparts to Puducherry, Karaikal enclave’s headquarters through ambulances. Meanwhile, Karaikal coast guard personnel examined the broken fishing boat anchored at the Karaikal fishing harbour on Thursday morning.

Following the incident, the atmosphere in fishing hamlets in Karaikal and Nagapattinam became tense.

ALSO READ: Srilankan PM Warns Indian Fishermen

BY M. DIVYA SRI