NEW DELHI, India - Coast Guard patrol vessels intercepted "a suspicious" Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea in the early hours of January 1, thwarting what the Indian security establishment contends could have been another attempt to unleash mayhem like the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai.
The four persons on the largish boat set it ablaze after an hour-long "hot pursuit", which ended with "warning shots" being fired to stop the fishing vessel around 197 nautical miles (365 km) from Porbander, at about 3.50 am on Thursday.
The four-member crew, who "disregarded all warnings" to stop for search, hid themselves in a compartment below the deck and set the boat on fire. It led to explosions.
The nature of the fire clearly indicated the boat was possibly carrying explosives.
The boat or its crew could not be saved due to the darkness, bad weather and strong winds. It sank in the same spot," said a defence ministry official.
The entire operation began after intelligence inputs on December 31 that a fishing boat from Keti Bunder near Karachi was planning "some illicit transaction" in the Arabian Sea.
This led the technical intelligence agency NTRO to alert the Coast Guard.
Source: India Times
The boat or its crew could not be saved due to the darkness, bad weather and strong winds. It sank in the same spot," said a defence ministry official.
The entire operation began after intelligence inputs on December 31 that a fishing boat from Keti Bunder near Karachi was planning "some illicit transaction" in the Arabian Sea.
This led the technical intelligence agency NTRO to alert the Coast Guard.
Source: India Times
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