By IANS,
Kolkata: Three Indian fishermen were killed and eight others injured in an attack by Bangladeshi pirates in West Bengal’s Sundarbans area Friday night, police said.
“Three Indian fishermen have been killed in the attack at Kendua island in the Sundarbans area,” South 24-Parganas’ Superintendent of Police L.N. Meena told IANS by phone.
Eight Indian fishermen were injured while several others were abducted by the pirates.
The Indians had set sail in 14 trawlers into the Bay of Bengal for fishing when the attack came.
One trawler with 11 people is still missing, said Sundarbans Affairs Minister Shyamal Mandal. The Coast Guard and the police have launched a massive hunt for the missing fishermen.
The Indian fishermen who captured five Bangladeshi nationals later handed them over to the police and they are now being interrogated. “We are yet to make any formal arrests,” said Meena.
Sundarbans, the world’s largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest, is shared both by India (West Bengal) and Bangladesh. Nearly 60 percent of the forest is with Bangladesh and the rest is with India.