GOVT SAYS SIX OF SEVEN INDIANS MISSING IN YEMEN ARE DEAD
Six Indians, all hailing from Gujarat, were killed after their boat came under Saudi Arabia-led aerial bombardment in Yemen on September 8, the external affairs ministry said on Friday.
The six were among seven Indians initially reported missing when two boats, Mustafa and Asmar, carrying a total of 21 Indian nationals came under aerial attack.
“It is now regrettably informed that late at night on 10 September, the bodies of six of the missing persons present on the two boats were recovered and brought to the military hospital,” ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
“The families of the deceased have been informed, and their verbal consent has been taken for appropriate funeral rites to be performed in Hodeidah as per religious practices.”
Swarup said the Djibouti camp of fice of the Indian embassy in Yemen was in constant touch with authorities and local contacts to ascertain more details. “Of the remaining 15 Indians on the two boats, 14 are safe in Hodeidah, and of these four are undergoing treatment in a local hospital. All the 14 are in regular touch with their families. One person is still missing, and the mission is working with the local authorities and contacts to ascertain his whereabouts,” he added.
Some media reports, quoting residents and fishermen, had said on Tuesday that at least 20 Indian nationals were killed in airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition forces on fuel smugglers at Hodeidah port. India does not have an embassy in Yemen after it was shut down in April following the evacuation of its nationals.