Seven Indians Missing After Saudi Airstrikes on Boats in Yemen

Seven Indian crew members of two boats that were hit during Saudi airstrikes in Yemen are still missing while another 13 have been reported alive, the Indian External Affairs spokesman said Wednesday.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – Media reports emerged late on Tuesday, claiming that 20 Indian nationals on board two boats had been killed in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes over the western Yemeni port of Hudaydah.

"The boats came under aerial bombardment in the afternoon of 8 September. The boats were carrying a total of 20 Indian crew members of which 13 are alive and 7 are reported missing," Vikas Swarup said in a statement.

Our response to media reports about the death of Indians in Yemen pic.twitter.com/ZwJXGUfCoA

— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) 9 сентября 2015

The foreign ministry spokesman said Indian diplomats in neighboring Djibouti were able to learn from local authorities that the two boats had been sailing between the Yemeni port of Mocha and the port of Berbera in Somalia.

Swarup said additional information would be available once embassy officials in Djibouti had met with the boats' owner later on Wednesday.

The identities of the 20 Indian nationals are currently being established.

India closed its embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in April, less than a month after the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The strikes were requested by the exiled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.