Mar 26, Omanthai: Sri Lanka army soldiers have rescued 8 fishermen who had been escaping the Tamil Tiger grip under heavy fire, said the defence sources.

According to the sources, troops have detected a group of people trying to come out of a jungle patch 3 km east of Omanthai this afternoon under heavy small arms fire by the Tamil Tigers. Troops have beaten off the Tamil Tigers and rescued 8 people alive. Later, it has been found that 3 of the escapees were killed by the Tamil Tigers while another 3 have suffered injuries, the sources added.

The unhurt escapees have told the security forces that they were a group of 14 Sinhala fishermen who had been abducted by the Tamil Tigers while engaged in fishing about 20 nautical miles east of Puttlama and Kalpitiya on 10 February and 2 March 2007. The victims had been kept as slaves by the Tamil Tigers for over 13 months until they escaped a week ago. Two of the victims had died on the way inside dense jungles of Mullaitivu and the rest managed to reach Omanthai this morning.

The group had been detected by the Tamil Tigers at the Omanthai defence line and came under LTTE fire until the army rescued them. The victims have also told that they had been subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment in the hands of the Tamil Tigers.

According to the police sources the victims were residents of Kalpitiya, Negombo and Tangalle areas.