A Tamil Nadu fisherman hailing from coastal Mayiladuthurai district, who was injured in an alleged shooting incident recently while fishing in Saudi Arabia, died on Thursday.

A Fisheries Department official gave the name of the victim as G. Shankar, 39, hailing from Keezhamoovarkarai village in Sirkazhi taluk in Mayiladuthurai district.

Shankar is the second fisherman of Mayiladuthurai district to have lost his life in the alleged shooting incident after P. Maveeran of Thoduvai in Mayiladuthurai district who was in the same fishing boat was killed a few days ago.

A group of four Tamil Nadu fishermen, three from Mayiladuthurai district, and one from Cuddalore district, were working from Saudi Araba and were engaged in fishing on the night of August 10 in Saudi Arabia when they were allegedly shot, reportedly by pirates in the sea.

While Maveeran was killed on the spot, Shankar was admitted to a hospital in Dammam Central Hospital in Saudi Arabia where he died in the early hours on Thursday.

The officials visited the bereaved family members of Shankar at Keezhamoovarkarai on Thursday and offered condolences. The family members of Shankar had petitioned the Mayiladuthurai district administration during the weekly grievance redress meeting at the Collectorate on Monday seeking his early repatriation from Saudi Arabia and to provide him with good treatment till such time in that country.

Shankar is survived by his wife Amudha, daughter who is a third year undergraduate student and son - a Class X student. “Shankar went to Saudi Arabia last month for the first time to augment his income in order to take care of his family. The news of the death of Shankar was conveyed to us on Thursday morning,” M. Saravanan, a close relative of Shankar, told The Hindu over phone.

The family members of Maveeran who was killed recently already petitioned the State government to repatriate his body at the earliest.

Published - August 20, 2026 06:28 pm IST