Indian fisherman killing row: US ship didn't warn Indian fishermen, says Dubai police chief

The US Naval security guards of a fuel re-supply ship USNS Rappahannock had not warned Indian fishermen before attacking on their boat off Dubai in the tense water of Southern Dubai in which one fisherman died and three other injured, said Dubai Police Commander-in-chief on Thursday, media sources said.

According to the testimony of the injured, the Indian fishermen were not warned to move away by the US Navy, said Lieutenant-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim. The crew told the police that they did not move towards the ship and instead attempted to avoid it, reported Khaleej Times, a prestigious gulf Newspaper.

"According to our findings and testimonies of the injured, I believe that they told the truth," Lt-Gen Dhahi was quoted as saying.

On Monday evening, Indian fisherman A Sekhar was killed and M Panduvanathan, K Muthukannan and R Muthumaniraj were injured when naval personnel on board USNS Rappahannock, a fuel re-supply ship, opened fire on a small motor vessel near Jebel Ali port off Dubai.

The fleet later issued a statement saying that the USNS Rappahannock attacked the small motorboat near the Dubai port of Jebel Ali, because the small vessel "ignored the warnings and came too close".

"The US crew repeatedly attempted to warn the vessel's operators to turn away from their deliberate approach. When those efforts failed to deter the approaching vessel, the security team on the Rappahannock fired rounds from a .50-caliber machine gun," the statement said.

--With IANS Inputs--