Shark attack; One fisherman missing, another loses finger

• The trawler with seven fishermen on board left for deep-sea fishing on April 24

By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe 

A fisherman disappeared, and another received serious injuries when they came under attack by a shark in the deep sea off Wennappuwa. 

The owner of the trawler said the group of fishermen was fishing in the international waters when they met with an accident. He said the disappeared fisherman Manoj Dilruwan Peterson (26) was a resident of Mahawewa. 

The trawler with seven fishermen on board, including the skipper, had left for deep-sea fishing from Wallemankarai Fishery Harbour in Wennappuwa on April 24 and had this encounter with sharks on May 30 in their attempt to drag on board the vessel a huge shark. 

The shark had bitten off a finger of one of the fishermen, escaped the net and fallen into the sea. In the rush that ensued in the fishermen’s attempt to escape the shark, one of the fishermen had fallen into the sea and disappeared. 

The skipper said they threw out the ropes in the trawler in an attempt to save the fisherman who fell into the sea, but to no avail. He said the fisherman, who was swimming away in a bid to escape the shark, disappeared in the trembling waves.