Two fishermen hung onto capsized boat

Colombo (News 1st): A boat capsized this morning around 2km from the shore with two fishermen on board. The boat had set sail from Kalutara North. The tragedy occurred due to heavy rain and gale-force winds which were experienced in the area in the early hours of the day. Our correspondent said the two fishermen had hung onto the capsized boat. Police had attempted to deploy another vessel around 7 a.m. this morning to rescue the fishermen in distress, however, the attempt was discouraged by other fishermen of the area taking into account the inclement weather which had persisted at the time. According to our correspondent, the two distressed fishermen had clung on to the capsized boat for nearly 4 hours. Navy sailors who arrived at the scene after being notified by the Police managed to rescue the two fishermen in a span of 10 minutes. The rescued fishermen are aged 44 and 55 years and are residents of Kalutara North and Waskaduwa.