Eight persons including three women have been injured and hospitalized following a shooting carried out by a security guard near Gate No. 06 of the Colombo port.

Police said that the shooting has been carried out by a private security officer at the Colombo port and that the injured persons are residents of Bloemendhal Street in Colombo.

According to police, a tense situation had ensued with the arrival of an angry mob at the location after the security officer had prevented two persons from stealing iron from the site.

Subsequently one individual had allegedly attempted to grab the firearm from one of the security officers, prompting another security officer to open fire, police said.

Further investigations are underway.

Eight Sri Lankans were among the crew released by the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Port Harcourt on April 28, 2023, along with the vessel M/T Heroic Idun, which was under detention over disputed oil smuggling allegations, since August 2022 in Nigeria and the Equatorial Guinea.

The out-of-court settlement reached between the Nigerian authorities and Idun Maritime Ltd., the vessel owner, enabled the High Court to end the detention of the vessel and dropping of the charges.

The vessel was detained along with 26 crew members, including 8 Sri Lankans. Sri Lanka will coordinate with the vessel owner regarding the repatriation of the Sri Lankan crew at the earliest, once the conditions are fulfilled by the shipping company, which will arrange the safe return of the crew.

As requested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, the High Commission in Nairobi, which is concurrently accredited to Nigeria, provided assistance and ensured the welfare and safety of the Sri Lankan crew until the legal process was over. Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Veluppillai Kananathan, met the Sri Lankan crew in Lagos, Nigeria, on November 13, 2022, and took necessary action to ensure their welfare and accommodation on board the vessel, instead of being sent to judicial custody. High Commissioner Kananathan ensured payment of salaries and other entitlements to the Sri Lankans in full. The High Commissioner was able to convince the shipping company to enhance the salaries of the Sri Lankan crew until their release.

The High Commission worked jointly with the Indian High Commission in Abuja, as the crew also comprised 16 Indian nationals.

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport today (May 01) on a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana, Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force.

Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa, Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Air Force and Deputy High Commissioner of India, Mr. Vinod K. Jacob warmly welcomed Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on his arrival.

During the visit, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari is scheduled to make courtesy calls on President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, and have meetings with the Minister of State for Defence, Defence Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff and Service Commanders.

The visit symbolises strong relations and close cooperation between the two friendly neighbours, with Sri Lanka being accorded the status of ‘Priority One’ partner by India. Underlining the strong bonds of friendship between the two services,  Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari would be laying the foundation stone for India- Sri Lanka Friendship Auditorium at Sri Lanka Air Force Academy, Trincomalee under 250 Million LKR Grant assistance by Government of India (GOI), in line with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.

As part of GOI’s commitment towards capacity building of Sri Lanka Armed Forces, Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force would be presenting AN-32 propellers to ensure high operational readiness of the aircraft held with Sri Lanka Air Force. He would also be interacting with students at the prestigious National Defence College, Sri Lanka and the Air Force Academy, China Bay, wherein training aids for the students would be gifted.