25 May 2011, 19:00
The Georgian sailors detained in India returned home
The Georgian sailors who had been unable to leave India for almost two months have returned home from Turkey.
The Turkish vessel "Mirage" members of whose crew eight Georgian sailors had been sank in the Indian Ocean at the end of March. The whole crew survived and were delivered to the Indian town of Nagerkoil and accommodated in a local hotel.
After the vessel sank the sea was polluted with petrochemical product and this incident resulted in a prolonged investigation of the case. The investigation established that the ship had sunk because of the captain's error and the members of the crew were innocent.
All this period the eight Georgian sailors had been staying in the town of Nagerkoil waiting for the local authorities' permission to leave the country and go back to Georgia, "Novosti-Georgia" reports.
Until very recently local law enforcement bodies had not allowed them to leave the country. They got their passports back about May, 10, "Georgia Online" reports.
After receiving the necessary documents the sailors went to Turkey where they waited for offset of the salary debt from the owner of the Turkish vessel on board which they had served, "Trend" reports.
