Port Blair, May 21: A fishing boat MV Padda, which was reportedly stolen by Myanmarese poachers have been recovered by Indian Coast Guard after a joint operation with fishermen of the Andaman Islands.
According to report the fishing boat was stolen on 20 May 2012 from Hathi Level village located at Diglipur Island of North Andaman region, which are often raided by poachers from Myanmar.
On receipt of information, Coast Guard Ship C-140, under the Command of Asst Commandant AK Pandey, was sailed with maximum speed at 1300 hrs on 20 May 12 for sanitizing the area.
“The ship maintained extra vigil to sanitise the area and established close coast barrier patrol off Cape Thornhill (Near Burma Nallah). The Coast Guard Ship sighted the stolen Indian fishing boat being beached by the suspected Myanmarese in the creek of Cape Thornhill at 1715 hrs,” a release from ICG said here today.
The CG ship cordoned off the area and directed the local fishermen operating in area to block the other escape route north of Cape Thornhill, fearing that Myanmarese may attempt to escape through shallow waters during high water.
“At 1810 hrs, the Myanmarese tried to board the stolen fishing boat, MV Padda. The CG ship immediately shaped course and headed towards the position of the boat. On sighting the ship heading towards them, the Myanmarese onboard abandoned the boat and escaped into the dense forest, taking cover of darkness,” the release added.
The boat was then retrieved with the help of local fishermen and handed over to Police team, who arrived in area by then.
