Coast Guard seizes suspected boat from Myanmar

Bengaluru, July 19: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) apprehended a boat from Myanmar moving around Andamans late on Monday night. The boat was seized after two hours of chase by ICG ships.

According to officials, two ICG ships - Rajkamal and Bhikaji Cama - spotted the boat while they were on a routine patrol of the Northern Group of Islands.

"The boat did not respond to the maritime communication procedures and hence we grew suspicious over its presence," an ICG official told OneIndia on Tuesday.

The boat was finally seized from Narcondum, which is a small volcanic island in Andaman sea. The boat did not bear any country's flag nor had any registration number.

"Repeated warnings by the ICG ships on loud hailer and VHF sets were ignored by the ship. We had to fire warning shots across the bow of the boat to bring it to a halt," an official said.

The boat is suspected to be involved in human trafficking. 11 crew members and a large number of clothing belonging to men and women were also seized.

All the 11 were Myanmarese nationals and they did not carry any passports. The boat is currently being escorted to Port Blair for further investigation.

OneIndia News