Youth killed, 7 seriously injured in SLAF bombing in Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 April 2008, 17:39 GMT]
Four Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) kifir fighter jets in two sorties bombed Monday around 9:30 a.m fishermen engaged in fishing in A'lampil in Mullaiththeevu district in Vanni killing a youth and seriously injuring seven innocent civilians including two small girls. Four SLAF bombers again struck Ma'nalkudiyiruppu, a civilian settlement near Mullaiththeevu town and fishermen, around 4:10 p.m in four sorties dropping more than 43 bombs in a continued air strike that lasted till 5:20 p.m. The head of the youth killed was severed from his body in the bombing.

The youth killed was identified as S. Ukanthan, 18, and the two girls among the seven seriously injured are S. Lakshana, 05 from Ka'l'lappaadu and S. Kirisalini, 08, from Ma'nalkudiyiruppu.

The injured are admitted to Mullaiththeevu Public Hospital and its Medical Superintendent V. Shanmugarajah told TamilNet that as medical stocks are exhausted it was difficult to treat the injured persons.

Even the installment of medicine for the first quarter of this year is yet to arrive while many essential medicament and oxygen cylinders are out of stock, he added.

The five others seriously injured in the SLAF bombing are:

R. Kanistan, 15, from A'lampil, M. Suthakaran, 21 from Unit 8, Tharumapuram, S. Thiyagarajah, 48, from Uzhavanoor in Tharumapuram, Seevarathinam, 68, from Va'n'naangkulam and S. Sathiyanathan, 42, from Theerththakkarai.

The men fishing near A'lampil Vea'laangka'n'ni church scattered in fright when the bombers struck them Monday morning damaging their fishing nets and equipments.

The killed youth and five seriously injured were working for T. Thavarasa from Vadduvaakal.