Five fishermen reported missing

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 October 1998, 18:52 GMT]
Five fishermen from Karanavai in Karaveddi in Jaffna have been reported missing since Wednesday October 7. The five men, according to sources, had gone from Karanavai on Tuesday October 6 to a relative's house in Maaniavalai in the Sempianpattu area; and on Wednesday Oct. 7 they had set out around 4 a.m. in the early hours of the morning to fish in the lagoon nearby. They have been missing since then.

Their relatives started looking for them today. They contacted the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) camps at Naakarkoil and Maruthankerni and made inquiries about the missing fishermen.

SLA officers at both camps, according to the relatives, have said that nothing in this connection has come to their notice.

However, family members of one the missing fishermen said this afternoon that they had checked at the local army camps because some residents in the area had informed them that they (the residents) saw four blind folded civilians being taken in an SLA truck in the Maruthankerni yesterday.

The missing fishermen are: S.Selvaratnam (42), P.Sreetharan (27) S.Thavakularatnam (38), S.Vaseekaran (33), and A.Thangarajah (43).

Meanwhile, reports said that the village of Nelliyan on the southeasern coast of Jaffna was cordoned off and searched by the SLA this afternoon from 2 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.