India Thursday summoned the Italian ambassador to protest the alleged killing of two fishermen by security crew members of an Italian cargo ship, news reports said. The fishermen were reportedly shot dead off the southern state of Kerala late Wednesday by security guards on the Italian ship Enrica Lexie, who apparently mistook them for pirates, according to broadcaster CNN-IBN.
The ship had since docked at the port city of Cochin and its crew were being questioned by the police. Foreign Ministry officials met Italian ambassador Giacomo Sanfelice di Montefort and asked him to ensure that the captain of the ship co-operated with the investigation. The Italian embassy has said that the Italian ship fired in self-defence after it was attacked by armed men.