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Sri Lanka Navy rescued 30 persons, who were illegally heading for Australia, while stranded in the deep seas. They were safely brought to the Tangalle Harbour on 17th August 2012, having rescued from a month-long drifting ordeal at deep sea. Among the rescued are 19 Tamils and 11 Sinhalese. All are males resident in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Chilaw and Negombo.
The group had met with the harrowing experience when the multi-day trawler they were travelling had broken down at mid-sea due to a broken propeller approximately 300 nautical miles South-East of Sri Lanka. The trawler named “Ashen Putha II” had left from Negombo on 18th July with the group onboard and it had begun to drift after 05 days into the escapade due to the mishap.
On information received of the incident, the Navy took immediate action to direct another fishing trawler named “Shiran Putha” in the area to render assistance. “Shiran Putha” readily volunteered to assist the Navy’s rescue mission foregoing their fishing and disregarding the additional costs involved. The group was subsequently rescued by a fast naval patrol craft attached to the Southern Naval Command. All were in a highly dehydrated condition suffering from hunger and thirst. They had run out of the scanty stock of provisions stacked inside the crowded trawler and had nothing to eat or drink for days. The Naval personnel onboard provided them with food and refreshments and emergency medical treatment was too given by the naval medical personnel. Thereafter, the group was escorted to the Tangalle Harbour and handed over to the CID for further investigations.
The incident is another instance which shows the risks involved in illegal migration. If not for SLN’s timely action, 30 precious lives would have perished on the high seas. Therefore, the Public are again reminded not to fall for traps laid by the unscrupulous human smugglers, who amass vast sums of money on false promises of lucrative employment opportunities and financial gains overseas. SLN, on humanitarian grounds, has rescued a number of victims from tragedies at sea in its Search and Rescue Region, using its assets and professional expertise for the SAR missions.