37 Chinese fishermen remain aboard in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - The 37 Chinese fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Sunday night are still staying on their two boats off the country's northeastern coast on Tuesday, a Chinese captain said.

The two fishing trawlers are still in the waters off northeastern Sri Lanka and the fishermen's health is fine, captain Wang Weizhu told Xinhua from abroad by mobile phone.

Wang said they were treated well and could move freely onboard.

Diplomats of the Chinese embassy to Colombo are rushing to the incident site.

The boats were Sri Lankan-owned and the Chinese fishermen were just employees, according to the Chinese embassy.

Xinhua learned that the Chinese fishermen were waiting on board for the ship owners, the Sri Lankan officials and the Chinese diplomats to deal with the situation.

The Sri Lankan navy detained the vessels off the eastern coast of Batticaloa.

On Monday, after receiving the navy's notice on the arrest, the embassy swiftly contacted the Sri Lankan foreign ministry and navy headquarters.

It requested the Sri Lankan side learn more details about the incident, find out all facts, and handle the issue quickly and properly.