A suspicious fishing boat carrying explosives from Pakistan was intercepted by Indian Coast Guard in Arabian Sea near Indo-Pak maritime boundary but it sank after the crew on board set it on fire. The incident came a month after sixth anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack. The boat carrying some four people blew up some 365 kms off Porbander coast after a hot chase.
An official statement from the Defence PRO said, “As per the intelligence inputs received on 31st December, a fishing boat from Keti Bunder near Karachi was planning some illicit transaction in Arabian Sea.
Based on the input, Coast Guard Dornier aircraft undertook sea – air coordinated search and located the suspect fishing boat. Thereafter, the Coast Guard ship on patrol in area was diverted and intercepted the unlit boat at about midnight of 31st December in position 365 km West-South West of Porbandar”.
The fishing boat first ignored the coast guard ship’s warnings to stop for investigations of crew and cargo and then increased its speed and tried to escape away from the Indian side of maritime boundary. After a hot one hour pursuit, the coast guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots.
“Four persons were seen on the boat who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship to stop and cooperate with investigation. Soon thereafter, the crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire, which resulted in explosion and major fire on the boat”, said the statement.
Due to darkness, bad weather and strong winds, the boat and persons on board could not be saved or recovered. The boat burnt and sank in the same position, in early hours of 1st January. Coast Guard ships and aircraft are continuing operations in area to search for any possible survivor.
