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by Ranil Wijayapala and Trincomalee Group Correspondent

A flotilla of five LTTE suicide boats attacked a Point Pedro bound oil tanker carrying over 450 metric tonnes of fuel to the Jaffna peninsula, 12 nautical miles North of Point Pedro yesterday evening.

Military Spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne told the Daily News last night that around five LTTE boats had attacked the tanker and a suicide boat rammed the tanker, bursting it in flames.

Twelve crew members and 16 sailors were in the tanker at the time of the attack and all the crew members and 13 sailors were salvaged by Navy personnel in a rescue operation, he added.

Rescue operations were continued to pick the other missing sailors while measures were taken to douse the fire, he added.

The tanker was carrying 225 tonnes of low sulphur diesel, 160 tonnes of kerosene and 275 tonnes of auto diesel to the peninsula from the Trincomalee port.

According to Navy sources based in Trincomalee, the ship had left Trincomalee on Monday transporting the Essential Services Commissioner's requirement of fuel to the Jaffna peninsula.

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