The Indian Navy on rescued a merchant vessel that came under a drone attack in the Gulf of Aden and saved the lives of 23 people, including 13 Indians.
In a statement, the Navy said that it received a distress call from Liberian-flagged commercial ship MSCSkyII on March 4.
“INS Kolkata, mission deployed in the region for maritime security operations, promptly responded and arrived at the scene of the incident by 10.30 pm,” the Navy statement read.
A part of the ship caught fire after the drone attack. The Indian Navy sent a team of specialised fire fighters from INS Kolkata, who successfully doused the flames and escorted it to safe waters.
“A specialised firefighting team of 12 personnel from INS Kolkata embarked the vessel early morning hours of March 5 to assist in the firefighting efforts. Specialist EOD Team also embarked the vessel and provided assistance in residual risk assessment,” it said.
#IndianNavy swiftly responds to a Maritime Incident in #GulfofAden
Liberian-flagged MV #MSCSkyII transiting approximately 90 Nm South East of Aden was reported on fire due to drone/ missile attack PM 04 Mar.
#INSKolkata, mission deployed in the region for maritime security… pic.twitter.com/AG15Krocjr— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 5, 2024
There were 23 people, including 13 Indians, onboard the ship at the time of the incident. Navy said that they all have been escorted to safe waters.