Mumbai: Two Indian sailors held in South Korea since 2007 in connection with a collision case, were on Thursday acquitted by the South Korean Supreme Court and will be returning to India soon, a National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) official said.
The two, Captain Jaspreet Chawla and his Chief Officer Shyam Chetan, had been detained by South Koreann authorities after a collision between the Hebei Spirit, a crude carrier carrying 2.6 lakh tonnes of crude oil, and a Samsung-owned barge, the official said.
Chawla and Chetan will be coming to India soon, NUSI General Secretary Abdulghani Serang said.
NDTV adds:There were worldwide protests against their arrest and the Indian government had also taken up their case strongly with the South Korean government.
The two sailors were among five indicted when a barge broke lose and spilled 10,800 tonnes of crude oil into the sea in 2007.
Both were released on bail in January but kept under house arrest.