Navy rescues 30 stranded asylum seekers

August 17, 2012 09:24 pm

Sri Lanka Navy today rescued 30 persons who were stranded in deep seas after illegally sailing for Australia.

They were safely brought to the Tangalle Harbour, having rescued from a month-long drifting ordeal at deep sea, Navy said.

The rescued are all males, including 19 Tamils and 11 Sinhalese, and are said to be residents of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Chilaw and Negombo.

The group had met with the harrowing experience when the multi-day trawler they were travelling had broken down at mid-sea due to a broken propeller approximately 300 nautical miles South-East of Sri Lanka.

The trawler named “Ashen Putha II” had left from Negombo on July 18 with the group onboard and it had begun to drift after 5 days into the escapade due to the mishap, Sri Lankan Navy media unit said.

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