The refugees, who were fleeing to India, were taken in a boat by Sri Lankan fishermen, after each person paid Rs 7,000 ($90), and transferred at sea to an Indian fishing boat. Survivors say the Indian fishermen brought them back saying that they feared the Indian Navy, and pushed them into the sea far from the shore of Mannar Island.
Despite the hazards Sri Lankan refugees continue to arrive in Tamil Nadu. Agencies working in the Vanni say refugees are fleeing because of government restrictions on food and medicines. Further, continued shelling of LTTE-controlled areas of Mantai in northern Mannar District, from military camps further south at Thallady and Murunkan has caused displacement of people who resettled in the region.
The Tigers launched an attack on an Army unit at Periyanavatkulam in Mantai on 16 July killing two soldiers. Six days earlier, unidentified persons forced Selvanayagam Suresh to leave his home at Uppukulam late in the night and shot him dead.