The Sri Lanka Navy has brought ashore 25 distressed Indonesian fishermen safely to Colombo port, following a multi-agency operation.
The crew members were reportedly aboard the Indonesian fishing trawler KM Garuda Jaya VI, which capsized on 22 September south of Sri Lanka, the Navy said.
The incident had occurred within the Australian search and rescue region, where the crew members were initially reported distressed.
Meanwhile, the merchant vessel MV Moonstone, yesterday (24) had rescued the 25 survivors from the water and alerted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo. Responding to the call for distress, the Sri Lanka Navy, through the coordination of MRCC Colombo, had dispatched 2 craft to bring ashore the fishermen rescued by MV Moonstone.
Accordingly, the Navy had safely transferred the survivors to the Colombo port, provided humanitarian assistance, and handed over them to the Indonesian Embassy in Sri Lanka for onward action, the Navy said.
