COLOMBO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government on Monday said it would compensate local fishermen who were affected by the burning of the X-Press Pearl disaster, from an interim claim of 40 million U.S. dollars it hopes to claim from the ship operators.
State Minister of Fisheries Kanchana Wijesekera, in a statement on his official Twitter account, said the compensation would be deposited to the fishermen's bank accounts.
He said beneficiaries of the compensation will be verified by officials of fisheries, divisional secretariats and fishing associations.
Sri Lankan fishermen were one of the worst affected by the burning of the X-Press Pearl vessel last month which caused a massive environmental disaster. Enditem