SLN gunboat severs fisherman's arm

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The right arm of a young Pt. Pedro fisherman was cut off by the propeller of an SLN gunboat which rammed the raft in which he was fishing with two of his colleagues this morning around 5 a.m. The fisherman, Thiaguppillai Thomas Jayasoori, 25, of Katkovalam in Pt.Pedro is the father of two children.

He had been out at sea with his two colleagues in the raft about 750 yards from the coast when the SLN vessel had come towards them and rammed the raft despite their signals and screams.

The three were thrown off the raft with their catch and gear.

Jayasoori's right arm was completely severed by the SLN boat's propeller and it sank into the sea, said his colleagues who brought him ashore. The propeller has deeply slashed Jayasoori abdomen and thighs said hospital sources.

He was first taken to the Manthikai hospital and has now been transferred to the Jaffna hospital. His condition is said to be serious.

Sources in Jaffna said these fishermen had not broken any regulations on fishing which are currently in force in the northern seas because the SL Navy has allowed fishing in the seas off Pt. Pedro from 3 a.m. in the morning.