TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian fisherman Nurdin (41) of East Aceh District drowned in Myanmar waters when Myanmar authorities tried to arrest him last week along with 15 other fishermen.
Information on the death of the ill-fated fisherman was conveyed by Indonesian Ambassador to Myanmar Prof. Iza Fadri, according to head of the Aceh Provincial Social Service Alhudri, here on Tuesday.
"It was suspected that the victim (Nurdin) died because he was unable to swim. The victim along with dozens of other fishermen reportedly jumped from the ship when captured by the Myanmar`s Navy," head of the provincial Social Affairs office Alhudri said.
On Tuesday (Nov. 6) 16 fishermen who sailed with Bintang Jasa Motor Vessel from Kuala Idi, East Aceh, were arrested by the Navy patrol boat of Myanmar.
When the patrol approached, dozen of fishermen jumped into the sea, and one of them died drowning.
The 16 arrested fishermen were identified as Jamaluddin, Nurdin, Samidan, Efendi, Rahmat, Saifuddin, Nazaruddin, Syukri, Darman, Safrizal, Umar, M. Aris, Jamaluddin, Sulaiman, M. Akbar, and Paiturahman.
The ill-fated fishermen, who had set sail aboard the Bintang Jasa Motorboat from Kuala Idi, East Aceh, on October 31, 2018, were arrested for allegedly entering the waters of Myanmar without permission.
In the meantime, Iskandar Usman Alfarlaky, a legislator, who is also member of the Aceh House of Representatives, stressed that East Aceh fishermen captured in Myanmar were not stealing fish in the country`s waters.
"They were washed away because the ship they were travelling had engine trouble. So they entered the waters of Myanmar, and not to steal fish," Alfarlaky stated in Banda Aceh on Tuesday.
ANTARA
