Coast Guard intercepts boat carrying explosives in Arabian Sea

A possible terror attack has been averted by the timely intervention of the Indian Coast Guard, when it intercepted a suspicious fishing boat carrying explosives in the Arabian Sea, near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary which lies approximately 365 kilometres away from Porbander.

A statement from the Ministry of Defence said that as per intelligence inputs received on December 31, a fishing boat from Keti Bunder near Karachi was planning some illicit transaction in the Arabian Sea. Based on the input, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft undertook a sea-air coordinated search and located the suspect fishing boat.

The statement further says that a coast guard ship warned the suspicious vessel to stop for further investigation of the crew and cargo; however, the boat increased its speed and attempted to flee the maritime boundary.

The coast guards operation continued for nearly one hour and the Coast Guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots.

The four persons on board disregarded warning shots from the Coast Guard and tried to hide themselves in the lower deck of the vessel; thereafter they set the boat on fire, which resulted in an explosion. Ultimately, the boat burnt and sank in the early hours of January 1, including all the people on board who could not be saved or recovered.

The statement also says that Coast Guard ships and aircraft are continuing search operations in the area to find for any possible survivor. The Coast Guard and other security agencies are maintaining high vigil in maritime and coastal areas since the last couple of months due to several inputs on threats from the sea.