Indian warship INS Kolkata rescued 21 crew members after their Barbados-flagged cargo ship was targeted with a missile in the Gulf of Aden, navy spokesman Commander Vivek Madhwal reported on Thursday.
Crew members abandoned the bulk carrier MV True Confidence after it caught fire in an attack on Wednesday.
INS Kolkata, deployed for maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden, arrived at the scene at 4.45 pm and rescued 21 crew members, including one Indian national, from a life raft via an integral helicopter and boats.
The rescued crew, including the seriously injured, were evacuated to Djibouti.
The Barbados-flagged vessel was reportedly hit by a drone about 55 nautical miles southwest of Aden, causing a fire on board and serious injuries to some crew members and forcing the crew to abandon the ship, Madhwal reported.
The Indian Navy has assisted a number of merchant vessels in the western Indian Ocean over the past few weeks. The new incident comes amid growing global concern over activities of Houthi militants protesting Israel’s war on Gaza.
