Two coast guard sailors rescued from Sri Lankan fishermen

The Navy today rescued two Coast Guard sailors, who were overpowered by Sri Lankan fishermen while guarding a captured boat, from their captivity.

"The fishing vessel (Win Marine) was relocated today afternoon around 200 nautical miles east of Chennai. The two sailors were rescued in a carefully measured operation by the Indian Naval sailors," Navy PRO commander PV Satish said here.

The incident happened during the intervening night of December 9-10 when two Coast Guard ships 'Priyadarshini' and 'Sarang' were escorting seven apprehended Sri Lankan fishing boats to Vishakhapattanam with two sailors deployed on each boat, he said.

"On the night of 09/10 Dec 09, whilst on passage, the two Coast Guard sailors positioned on the 'Win Marine' were overpowered under knife attack, and the boat slipped away with the two sailors on board," Satish said.

The Lankan boats were apprehended on the morning of December 8 by the ships for poaching in Indian waters. The Navy PRO said there were no causalities during the operation and the two sailors were also found to be safe.