Six Sri Lankans have been arrested for entering India illegally in an attempt to escape the economic crisis

Six Sri Lankan nationals who allegedly tried to enter India illegally - they were stranded before being rescued by the Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday - are being interrogated, officials have told news agency PTI.

The Sri Lankans attempted to land at Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu but the man who brought them here illegally forced them to disembark and left them stranded on a sand dune, officials said.

One of the Sri Lankans claimed they were trying to enter India because of the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.