Two killed by Italian ship personnel, envoy summoned

Feb 16, 2012 |

IANS

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram

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India on Thursday summoned the Italian envoy and voiced concern over the shooting of killing of two fishermen by security officials of an Italian cargo vessel and underlined that the captain of the ship should cooperate with local authorities.

M. Ganapathi, secretary (west) in the external affairs ministry, met Italian ambassador Giacomo Sanfelice di Montefort and told him that the captain has to cooperate with Indian officials probing the incident.

The Kerala cabinet has decided to give Rs.500,000 as compensation each to the next of kin of the two fishermen shot dead on Wednesday evening after being mistaken for pirates.

The fishermen, one from Kerala and another from Tamil Nadu, were killed in the sea, about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha in Kerala.

The Italian cargo ship, Enrica Lexie, is now berthed off the Kochi coast and its officials have been summoned by police for further investigations.

Kerala Fisheries Minister K. Babu has said that it remained to be seen how the issue is settled as an Italian ship was involved.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asked the home department to register a case.

The boat in which the two were shot dead had left for fishing a week ago from Kollam. Freddy, its owner who was present when the incident took place around 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday, said there were 11 people on board.

Freddy, from Tamil Nadu, told reporters: "Except the two who were shot dead, all the other nine were fast asleep. I woke up hearing sounds similar to a gunshot. When I woke up I saw the two workers in a pool of blood.

"I scramed and shouted and all others also woke up, but by then it was too late."

The bodies of the two fishermen would be handed to relatives after an autopsy at the Medical College Hospital.

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