The Sri Lanka Navy provided humanitarian assistance to 11 people, including five children, who were found stranded on a remote sandbank off Thalaimannar on Saturday, Sept. 5.
During an early morning routine maritime patrol, naval personnel initially found a group of eight people comprising four women, one man and three children, aged 2, 11 and 14.
The Navy provided the group with drinking water, food and temporary shelter.
According to preliminary inquiries, the group had travelled from Rameshwaram, India, and had allegedly been abandoned on the sandbank in connection with a suspected human smuggling operation.
The Navy said the individuals are believed to be returnees from the Anaiyur and Okkur refugee camps in southern India.
In a subsequent patrol on Saturday, the Navy found another three people — a father and his two children, aged 11 and 13 — stranded on a remote sandbank off Thalaimannar.
The latest incident brought the total number of people assisted by the Navy in the area during the day to 11, including five children, four women and two men.
The group is due to be handed over to Thalaimannar Police for further action, the Navy said. (Newswire)
