4 fishermen rescued after 13 days at sea brought to Hambantota Port

The four fishermen who were rescued after being stranded at sea for 13 days after setting out to sea from Dondra were brought back to the Hambantota Port by the Sri Lanka Navy at around 5 a.m. today (31).

The multi-day fishing vessel had set sail on August 31 with six fishermen on-board.

According to the Department of Fisheries, the owner of the vessel had subsequently reported that he lost contact with the boat since October 16.

The vessel had encountered distress around 300 nautical miles off the coast of the country.

One of the six fishermen on-board reportedly fell into the sea and went missing, while another passed away about 11 days later.

The SL Navy had received information that four fishermen from the distressed vessel had been rescued by an Indonesian fishing boat.

Accordingly, the Sri Lanka Navy dispatched one of its ships to carry out the rescue operation.

Following this, a special naval team was dispatched yesterday (30) to retrieve the fishermen taken aboard by the merchant vessel.

The four rescued fishermen, who arrived at the Hambantota Port this morning, have been referred to the Hambantota General Hospital for medical treatment.

Two of the fishermen are reported to be in critical condition, said Ada Derana reporter.

One of the deceased fishermen has been identified as E.D.R. Navodhana, a resident of Hambantota, while the other is H.H.A.D. Suranga, a resident of Dondra.

The four survivors have been identified as Poshitha Nimantha, Shanaka Amila, Oshan Madusanka, and Dhammika Lakmal.

It has been reported that the bodies of the deceased fishermen were abandoned, as the Indonesian vessel declined to accept them.