Protests at Germany's G8 summit took a spectacular turn yesterday as police launched a high-speed boat chase through the Baltic and rammed two Greenpeace inflatable speed boats, pitching crew members overboard and injuring three.
Dramatic TV footage of the chase showed a small armada of Greenpeace inflatable boatsdriven by powerful outboard motors speeding into a 10km wide security zone off the seaside resort of Heiligendamm.
After some delay, five high-powered police vessels went in hot pursuit. For at least 10 minutes the police and Greenpeace played cat and mouse. The chase was brought to an abrupt halt when the biggest and most powerful police vessel rammed and swamped one of the Greenpeace inflatables and pitched all four of the boat's oilskin-clad crew into the sea. Three of the crew were injured and were taken to hospital.
In another encounter, the police combat boat swamped and stopped a second Greenpeace inflatable. The activists unfurled a banner reading "G8 - act now".
Daniel Mittler of Greenpeace Germany said the group wanted to deliver a petition to the G8 leaders by sea. "The G8 countries have caused most climate change and their leaders should face up to their responsibilities. The world demands action now," he said.
Police allowed protesters to get right up to the 13km-long razor wire fence surrounding the summit. But they used water canon and baton charges to clear demonstrators staging sit-down blockades on roads leading to the town.
