Four Thai fishermen released by Myanmar, Thai foreign ministry says
This handout photo taken on Nov 30, 2024 and released on Dec 2 by the Royal Thai Navy's Third Naval Area Command shows an injured fisherman carried on a stretcher at a port in Ranong in Thailand near the Myanmar border. (Photo: Handout/Royal Thai Navy's Third Naval Area Command/AFP)
BANGKOK: Four Thai fishermen detained by Myanmar have been released and are expected to return home soon, Thailand's foreign ministry said on Friday (Dec 6), following an incident last weekend when Myanmar's navy fired on a group of Thai fishing vessels.
One fisherman drowned and two others were injured in the incident, and the Myanmar navy subsequently detained 31 crew members of the fishing vessels, including four Thai nationals.
Thai officials are at a border checkpoint to prepare to receive the Thai nationals, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told a press briefing.
Thailand's defence ministry previously said two of 15 Thai fishing vessels were fired on last weekend when they were 7.4-10.6km inside Myanmar's territorial waters near the southern Thai province of Ranong.
Myanmar has been in crisis since 2021 when the military seized power, toppling an elected government and sparking an armed rebellion by crushing protests with lethal force.
