(COLOMBO) The Sri Lankan authorities are hunting for a foreign vessel that rammed into a local fishing craft killing three persons on board and another seriously injured, navy and Merchant Shipping officials said on Tuesday.
They said the fishing craft had left Galle harbour in southern Sri Lanka on August 25 and that the incident took place during the early hours of Tuesday.
The bodies of the dead fishermen along with the injured person and the remaining crew were later rescued by another Sri Lankan fishing trawler and subsequently handed over to a naval vessel.
The trawler in which the fishermen were on board capsized almost on impact with the ship, they said.
The navy said that the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) has notified the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Colombo at Navy Headquarters for immediate assistance.
In response, the Navy has dispatched SLNS Gajabahu to retrieve the fishermen being brought by the fishing trawler. ‘
Meanwhile, the Merchant Shipping Secretariat, with the assistance of MRCC Colombo, is coordinating efforts to identify the foreign ship responsible.
