Suspicious boat with Myanmarese crew apprehended near Andamans

The Coast Guard has apprehended a suspicious boat with 11 Myanmarese crew from the Indian waters in the Andamans Sea after a two-hour chase.
The boat was seen by the Coast Guard patrol ships Bhikaji Cama and Rajkamal some nine nautical miles east of the Narcondum Island in the Andaman Sea on the night of July 17.
When challenged, the crew began to flee and started dumping some items into the sea.
The boat was apprehended when it surrendered following a chase of over two hours.
None of the crew carried passport or any fishing gear.
Also, the master of the ship could not explain why they were in the Indian waters and why they were running away from the authorities.

This, Coast Guard officials said, raised suspicion that the boat could be used for human trafficking.

The boat was without any registration number written on the hull and was not flying any country's flag.
Large quantity of fuel and water was also found stored in 40-50 drums and large number of used clothes of men and women, which was unusual for such boats, the Coast Guard said.
It said VHF communication sets were found hidden in the engine room.
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A defence release said the two divers who valiantly tried to rescue a fisherman despite the sea being rough were admitted to a Navy hospital and found to be medically fit.

During the search operation, 'INS Trishul' spotted one of the fishermen in the water.
Navy divers Bipin Dahal and Ganshyam Patidha volunteered to go into the water to rescue him as other methods such as use of ship ladder failed due to "heavy swell (of the sea) and hesitation of the fisherman in approaching the ship".
However, in their effort to reach him, the two divers went adrift when the rope tethering them to the ship snapped. They could not be sighted by the rescuers on 'INS Trishul' due to low light.
The diver pair survived 12 hours in water in complete darkness before being rescued.

On reaching Mumbai the two divers were shifted to INHS Asvini (Navy hospital) and were found to be medically fit and "in high spirits", the release said.
Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Girish Luthra visited them and complimented them for their bravery.