Italian sailor dies onboard

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

The body of an Italian sailor who died suddenly on a vessel transporting coal from Indonesia to Sri Lanka was handed over to the Harbour police in Trincomalee by the ship's crew on October 14 for further investigations, Acting DIG and Police Media Spokesman Maxi Proctor told the Sunday Observer .

The seaman had died on board the Thai vessel on October 6 while the ship was en-route to Sri Lanka. Police sources said that foul play was not suspected as there were no visible injuries on Italian sailor's body.

The inquest on the sailor's death was conducted by the Inquirer into Sudden Deaths yesterday. The statements of the ship's captain and two other officers were recorded in connection with the sailor's death. The deceased sailor has been identified as Udin Boonor' 29).

Following the Magisterial inquiry, the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of the Colombo National Hospital held the post-mortem examination on the sailor's death. OIC Harbour Chief Inspector Naranpanawa is conducting investigations.

Arrangements are under way to send the body to Italy.

The JMO's report will be submitted to the Trincomalee Magistrate.