Captain of suspect ship in hit-and-run case arrested

CHENNAI: The captain of a Singapore-flagged ship, suspected to have collided with a boat off Kerala coast killing five fishermen, was arrested and brought to the shore here today.

"He ( Gordon Charless Pereira) has been arrested and brought to the shore. He will be produced in a local court before being taken to Kerala," IG Ernakulam Range K Padmakumar, who is camping here, told reporters.

A team of Kerala police arrested Pereira onboard the ship M V Prabu Daya, currently anchored at the outer anchorage of Chennai port, a day after Madras High Court turned down his plea that police hold the inquiry onboard the vessel.

The court had on March 9 ordered that the vessel be detained till further orders on a civil suit filed by owner of the fishing vessel 'Don-I' which sank in the March 1 collision, seeking Rs 1 crore relief.

Two fishermen were killed on the incident day while three others went missing. Bodies of three other fishermen and the wreckage of the boat were later recovered by Naval divers.