Mangalore, February 16: Two fishermen, who had left for fishing in a fishing boat from Kollam last week, were shot dead in the high seas off Alappuzha, Kerala on Wednesday.
Official sources confirmed that two fishermen, one each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, were fired upon mistaking them to be pirates by security officials of an Italian cargo vessel in the deep sea after being mistaken for pirates.
Meanwhile, the Captain and the guards of the Italian ship have been taken to custody.
The Ministry of External Affairs has summoned the Italian Ambassador to discuss on the issue. According to TV Reports, the Kerala Police is being pressurised by Italian authorities into not arresting the ship crew.
The Italian ship did not alert Coastal state authority when they were attacking pirates. The Coast guard said that the Italian ship broke protocol by shooting. According to the IMO guidelines, shooting should be used as the last resort.
The vessel's authorities have apologised for the incident, claiming that they mistook the fishermen for pirates.
The incident is believed to have occurred about 14 nautical miles off the Alappuzha coast, nearly 400 kms away from here.
Fishermen in Kollam said the fishing boat, which left Kollam in Kerala a week back, was on its way back when the incident occurred.
The Kerala cabinet on Thursday decided to give Rs 5 lakh compensation each to the next of kin of the two fishermen.
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