A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker carrying 27 crew members among them 24 Pakistanis was struck by an Israeli drone while docked at a Yemeni port earlier this month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi revealed . All Pakistani sailors on board the vessel remained unharmed, he added.
The foreign ministry, meanwhile, stated that the vessel has already departed Ras al-Esa port with the entire crew — including all Pakistani nationals — “safe and unharmed.” However, it wouldn’t say what ignited a fire onboard the LPG tanker.
The Red Sea has become a hotspot of geopolitical tension due to Houthi militia’s targeting of commercial vessels in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza. The sea is wedged narrowly between Africa and the Middle East and connects the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.
According to a news agency, the drone strike ignited a fire aboard the ship traveling from Iran to Yemen. It further reported quoting diplomatic sources that the crew was temporarily evacuated before returning to the vessel to extinguish the blaze.
The strike is the latest in more than a year of attacks and counterstrikes between Houthis and Israel, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.
