The World : Boat Hits Mine Near Strait

A small fishing boat hit a mine and exploded in the Gulf of Oman, killing one of its Indian crew members and injuring two others, the official Emirates News Agency reported. It quoted an Interior Ministry statement as saying the incident occurred about 20 miles south of the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are just north of a major anchorage that is used by tankers and other commercial vessels going to and from the Persian Gulf, including U.S. Navy-escorted convoys of American-flagged Kuwaiti tankers. At least 16 mines were found in the area last fall, but none had been reported in the Gulf of Oman for several months.