Seven SL-Tamil Refugees drowned at Midsea ! GOSL/ GOI shd take responsiblity!!

Seven refugees drowned while returning to Sri Lanka....!

RAMANATHAPURAM: Seven Sri Lankan refugees, who made an attempt to flee to their country, drowned at midsea when the boat in which they were travelling capsized in the early hours of Saturday.

According to reports, 13 Sri Lankan refugees, including five women and two children, from different camps, including Palani and Thiruvannamalai, had boarded a country boat at Thonithurai, near Mandapam, on September 11 to proceed to Sri Lanka. Owing to rough seas and strong winds, the boat capsized at mid-sea in the Palk Straits. All occupants were thrown into the water.

Six of them managed to swim and reach a nearby islet, while seven others, including two children, were feared to have drowned.

The six refugees who swam to the islet remained stranded on it for 24 hours. However, three refugees, including Ravi and Suman and the boatman, swam ashore leaving three others, Reginald, Selvanathan and Ithayarani on the islet.

Personnel in an Indian Navy vessel, who were on patrol, spotted the three and brought them to shore and handed them over to Dhanuskodi police for inquiry.

Chandran, Rameswaram tahsildar, and a team from ‘Q’ Branch questioned the refugees who escaped death. They gave the names of four of the missing persons as Nithya (25), Gopika (7), Sahayarani (28) and Poomeni (65), but could not state which camps they were from.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy has intensified the search for the bodies. (Express News)
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Note From the Editor: GOSL/GOI shd take responsiblity for this kind of tragedy, because they are responsible directly/indirectly for this tragic war situation continue without any urgent political solution and they are not providing or starting a shipping service between Rameswaram and Mannar to help those 1000s poor refugees/IDPs go safely to India.India is fully helping GOSL with war materials/services but not willing to deliver food collected by TN-people and sea transport to refugees.GOSL continue the war without thinking about huge sufferings of Tamil refugees/IDPs.GOTN/TN-Police+Q-branch's treatment of refugees made them to return to SL due to unkindness towards fellow Tamil brothers and sisters!This is very sad situation!We hope GOI/GOTN shall treat them with respect and kindness!GOSL/SLN;SLAF;SLA;SLPolice shd treat Tamil refugees and Tamilnaadu fishermen with respect and kind as fellow humanbeings!UNHCR shd help the poor Tamil refugees as well as Tamilnaadu fishermen to safe their lives/livelihood.