MADURAI: Family members and relatives expressed happiness on hearing the news about the release of the nine Tamil Nadu fishermen of Thangachimadam rescued from a stranded boat near Neduntheevu by Lankan Navy.

Oorkavalthurai Court (Jaffna) in Sri Lanka on Wednesday ordered the release of the fishermen.

P Jesuraja, president, Ramanathapuram District All Mechanised Boats Association, thanked the state and central governments and especially the Sri Lankan government for the release of the fishermen, who are expected to return to home in the next few days. The Oorkavalthurai court also permitted the release of the mechanised boat.

It is a welcome relief for not only their families and relatives, but to the entire fishing community, N Devadoss, president, Rameswaram Fishermen Association, said.

“We (fishermen) see this as an effort to revive the close relationship between the people of Tamil Nadu and their counterparts in Sri Lanka,” Devadoss told DT Next.