ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW DELHI: India’s navy says an Italian cargo ship has fired at an Indian fishing boat off the coast of southern India, killing two fishermen.

The Indian navy says in a statement that the ship thought the fishermen were pirates.

The Indian coast guard and navy were questioning the captain and the crew of the ship identified as the Enrica Lexie about Wednesday’s incident.

The owner of the fishing vessel told Indian television Thursday the firing was unprovoked. He says the boat was fishing in Indian waters close to the Kerala coast when the Italian ship opened fire, killing the two fishermen. Nine other fishermen onboard survived.