US Navy ship fires at boat off UAE coast

Dubai, July 17 (IANS) At least one person died when a US Navy ship Monday fired at a small boat off the coast of the UAE after it ignored the warnings and came too close.

The USNS Rappahannock, a fuel re-supply ship, fired at the vessel after it disregarded the warnings and rapidly approached the US ship near Jebel Ali, Dubai, Xinhua reported.

The sailors used a series of non-lethal, pre-planned responses to warn the vessel before resorting to lethal force, the US Navy's Bahrain-based fifth fleet said in a statement.

The US crew repeatedly attempted to warn the vessel's operators to turn away from their deliberate approach, the statement said.

Witnesses said one person was killed and three others were injured, but no official figures were available from the UAE government.