Navy rescues Nineteen Tamil Civilians fleeing from LTTE Clutches in the Seas off Nayaru

Sri Lanka Navy rescued nineteen (19) Tamil civilians who were fleeing from the LTTE clutches in a fiber glass dinghy on the 16th February 2009 in the seas off Nayaru around 11.40 a.m. The group consisting of seven (07) males, six (06) females and six (06) children was safely brought to Pulmudai.

Upon been brought ashore, they were provided with food and refreshments. Those who were found sick and weary were provided with immediate treatment by the Naval medical personnel.

The rescued were relieved to have found the protection of the Navy. Among them, there were two toddlers, one aged just one year and the other barely two years old, who looked terrified by the ordeal they had undergone with their elders seeking a safe heaven. Their lives were hanging in the balance till the Naval vessels made speedy moves to rescue the innocent who were risking their lives on board a lonely FGD battling the unfriendly seas.

Parents thanked the Navy for helping them to reach the safety of the cleared areas and expressed their gratefulness to the Naval personnel for coming to their rescue so that at least their children could be spared of bitter experiences of LTTE terror which would ruin their entire lives. Theirs have already ruined, they claim, but they want to make sure that their young ones are spared from the atrocities of LTTE terror, they humbly appeal.

Sri Lanka Navy has made special arrangements to receive innocent Tamil civilians fleeing from the LTTE clutches. Naval personnel and vessels along with stand-by rescue and medical teams are on special deployment for this humanitarian assistance mission in the North-eastern seas.