Six Sri Lankan fishermen stranded at the port of Al Quseir on
Egypt's Red Sea coast have been helped to return home to Sri Lanka
by IOM.

The group, who left Sri Lanka's west coast in March 2008,
drifted into Egyptian waters when their boat developed technical
problems. At Al Quseir they were unable to repair the vessel, ran
out of money for fuel, food and medicine, and had no means of
getting home.

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sri Lankan
mission in Cairo then contacted IOM for help.

IOM provided medical screening for the group and then arranged
their return home by air, using its "Humanitarian Assistance to
Stranded Migrants'' fund, which provides assistance to destitute
migrants needing to return to their home country.

In Sri Lanka the fishermen were handed over to their families
and an NGO – the Alliance for the Release of Innocent
Fishermen and Fishing Crafts - Sri Lanka.

For more information please contact:

Priyantha Kulatunge

IOM Sri Lanka

Tel: +94.11.532 5310 / 532 5300

Email: "mailto:mkulatunge@iom.in">mkulatunge@iom.in

or

Passanna Gunasekera

Tel: +94.11.533 3432

Email: "mailto:pgunasekera@iom.int">pgunasekera@iom.int