Raigad: Speed-boat owned by Australian couple washes on beach

Raigad, Aug 18 The mystery of the suspicious speed-boat with arms and ammunition, which washed ashore on the Harihareshwar Beach in Raigad, has been cleared and it belongs to an Australian couple, the government said here on Thursday.

The speedboat, named 'Ladyhaan' is owned by the Australian woman Hannah Laundergun and her husband James Horbert was sailing it.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the speedboat was scheduled to sail from Oman to Europe.

On June 26, around 10 a.m., the speedboat suffered an engine failure and the crew called for help, and after 3 hours the same day, a Korean warship picked up the boat crew and dropped them off to Oman.

Owing to the rough seas, the couple could not arrange to tow the vessel and after remaining astray for nearly seven weeks, in the Arabian Sea waters, it finally landed up Harihareshwar Beach today.

Fadnavis said that the Raigad Police have recovered 3 AK-47 guns and some quantities of ammunition from the speedboat.

"The issue is being probed by the Raigad Police and Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad, and in view of past incidents, the police are put on high alert," said Fadnavis.

Various central agencies including the Indian Coast Guard have also been informed and further investigations are on.

The boat was first detected by some local fisherfolk at Harihareshwar Beach, around 200 km south of Mumbai, sending shockwaves in the state security setup.

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