Indian Navy’s INS Kolkata came to the rescue of 21 crew members, including an Indian national, after their cargo vessel was hit by a missile in the Gulf of Aden, a Navy spokesperson said on Thursday.

The crew members had abandoned Barbados-flagged bulk carrier MV True Confidence after it caught fire following the attack on Wednesday.

INS Kolkata, deployed for maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden, rescued the crew with the help of a life raft using its integral helicopter and boats, Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.

The rescued crew, including the critically injured personnel, have been evacuated to Djibouti.

The Barbados-flagged vessel was reportedly hit by a drone approximately 55 nm south west of Aden resulting in the fire on board and critical injuries to some of the crew members, forcing the crew to abandon the ship, the spokesman said.

Reports said three crew members were killed and four injured onboard a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday in missile attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels who have relentlessly pounced on these waters to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.

On social media platform ‘X’, the US’ Central Command (CENTCOM) said an anti-ship ballistic missile was launched from the Iran-backed Houthi areas of Yemen towards the Barbados-flagged merchant vessel MV True Confidence.

One of the 11 unified combatant commands of the US, CENTCOM further said, “The missile struck the vessel, and the multinational crew reports three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship.”

The latest incident comes only two days after the INS Kolkata’s firefighting team escorted the merchant vessel, MSC Sky II, with a crew of 23 (including 13 Indians), to safety.

India, which is not part of a US-led multinational coalition in the area, has been independently assisting ships in distress.

The Red Sea crisis hit close to home last December when a commercial vessel carrying oil from Saudi Arabia to Mangaluru came under attack by a drone, about 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast. The Navy decided to deploy several warships in the region after more such incidents were reported in the Arabian Sea.

The Indian Navy, as of today, has sent out around 10 to 12 warships, including frigates and destroyers, in the Indian Ocean Region to ward off piracy attempts and attacks by Houthi rebels, who have been disrupting the movement of merchant vessels through the Red Sea.