Lots of interesting news coming out of Palau today.  It looks like authorities shot and killed a Chinese fisherman who was poaching giant clams.  Then one of the planes involved went down. Paul Allen’s gigantic boat was nearby in support of James’s Cameron’s Mariana trench dive, so now they’re involved in the search.  It’s unclear if the plane was shot down or ran out of gas.

From the Associated Press:

A crew member of a Chinese vessel that allegedly poached giant clams from a marine reserve was shot and killed by Palau authorities in a confrontation Saturday. The plane vanished Sunday as it pursued a larger Chinese ship involved in the fishing operation – a vessel that apparently was set on fire by crew members after officers pursued it.

Paul Allen’s spokesman David Postman said Allen had been in the region to support his friend, film director James Cameron, who recently explored the world’s deepest point, the Mariana Trench northeast of Palau.

The events in Palau unfolded after six Chinese fishermen were seen diving for giant clams over several days in the Ngeruangel Atoll marine reserve, said to Norbert Yano, Palau’s director of public safety.

Yano said state officials tried to intercept the boat Saturday but the fishermen made a dangerous turn around the pursuing vessel. He said officials firing at the fleeing vessel’s engines accidentally shot a fisherman in the thigh.

The wounded man died. The other five fishermen were arrested and told authorities there was a mother ship nearby, Yano said. A patrol boat located the larger ship Saturday afternoon and began a chase that would last all night.

At 5:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities noticed the mother ship was engulfed in flames, Yano said. He said he believes crew members deliberately set it on fire and abandoned ship.

Crazy stuff!