A suspicious Pakistani fishing boat exploded into a ball of fire off the Gujarat coast and sank after it was intercepted by the Coast Guard, the government said Friday. The dramatic incident took place on the night of Dec 31-Jan 1, and the Coast Guard’s Deputy Director General K.R. Nautiyal said he suspected “something serious”.
He told the media that the boat first tried to get away after a Coast Guard ship asked it to halt for a check of its crew and goods. After six hours, it switched off its lights early Thursday just inside the Indian waters. The crew members, four of whom were spotted, then went to the deck below. It then blew up, indicating it may have been carrying explosives.
A defence ministry statement said the Pakistani boat, which had set off from near Karachi, Pakistan’s southern port city, was planning “some illicit transaction”. Its destination was unknown.
