A Pakistani boat, which had intruded into Indian waters near Sir Creek area of Kutch, was seized by the Border Security Force on Friday, but its occupants managed to escape.
"During patrolling, a BSF team spotted a boat about 1.5 km from the Sir Creek area. On seeing the BSF patrol team, the occupants of the boat dived into the sea," BSF officials said.
They said the team "seized the boat and started to track down the occupants. But, due to the difficult terrain and thick cover of mangroves, the occupants managed to flee. They had time on their side as the team was far away from the boat."
The BSF officials said the number of occupants of the boat was not yet known. "We are not sure about the number of occupants of the boat as our team was far away from them when they escaped," they said.
Later, the boat was found to be a fishing boat, and it has been brought to the Kutch coast, they added. The BSF has heightened vigil in the area after receiving inputs of increased Inter Services Intelligence activities in the creek area, they said.
Four floating Border Out Posts are operating deep inside the creek waters for enhanced surveillance round the clock, they said. Terrorists who attacked Mumbai in November last year hijacked an Indian fishing boat Kuber from near the creek area to reach the metropolis.
Harami Nala, a shallow water channel, spread over 500 sq km to the west of Kutch, has witnessed intrusions from Pakistani fishermen in the past.
On August 16, the BSF had apprehended nine Pakistani nationals traveling in a boat from the creek area. On October 5, five Pakistani fishermen were arrested from the Devri creek area.
The marshy topography makes it difficult for BSF troops to react swiftly against infiltrations.
