Six Sri Lankans caught entering India illegally, trying to flee economic crisis

Six Sri Lankan nationals who allegedly tried to enter India illegally - they were stranded before being rescued by the Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday - are being interrogated, officials have told news agency PTI. 

Three of the six are children, officials added. 

The six Sri Lankan nationals including three children are all residents of Jaffna and Kokupadaiyan in the northern region. They were rescued from an island near Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu.

The Sri Lankans attempted to land at Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu but the man who brought them here illegally forced them to disembark and left them stranded on a sand dune, officials said.

One of the Sri Lankans claimed they were trying to enter India because of the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. 

Increasing prices of essential goods was making it difficult to manage the situation back home, PTI quoted her as saying.

Sri Lanka is battling a foreign exchange crisis that has forced a currency devaluation and hit payments for essential imports like food, medicine and fuel.

The country has turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.

--Agencies