NEW DELHI: The crew of an alleged Pakistani fishing boat blew up and sank their vessel after trying to evade capture at the hands of the Indian navy in a high-speed chase at sea, officials said Friday.

All four people on board the vessel from Keti Bunder, near Karachi are believed to have been killed in the dramatic episode in the Arabian Sea on New Year's Eve, India's defence ministry claims.

Although the defence ministry would only say that the crew were planning “some illicit transaction”, it also stated that the boat was carrying explosives.

Indian media has played up the event, alleging that a terror threat was imminent from what Times of India has termed the "Pak Terror Boat".

However, links to terrorism have not been established or claimed.