New Delhi: An Indian mariner died near the Strait of Hormuz Friday after the wooden dhow he was sailing on caught fire and capsized. The fatality is the latest in a region battered by over two months of conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.
Seventeen of the 18-member Indian crew was rescued by a passing vessel. Four others sustained burn injuries and are receiving medical treatment in Dubai.
“A wooden dhow, carrying general cargo, with 18 Indian crew capsized yesterday close to the Strait of Hormuz after it caught fire. The exact cause of the fire is being ascertained. The crew members were rescued by a vessel which was passing by,” a person familiar with the matter said.
The person added: “In this incident, one Indian on the dhow died while four received burn injuries. The injured are receiving medical treatment in Dubai and are safe. Our officials from the Indian Consulate met the rescued Indian nationals yesterday (Friday) night itself. The consulate is also in touch with the dhow owner, and extending all possible assistance.”
Earlier on Friday, India’s Consulate General in Dubai acknowledged the seafarer’s death, saying authorities were in touch with the vessel’s owner to ascertain the details of the accident.
At least eight Indians had already lost their lives to the war before Friday’s incident. West Asia is home to almost nine million Indians, and New Delhi has been in contact with various regional leaders since hostilities began to ensure the community’s safety.
The incident comes amid renewed hostilities along the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which a fifth of the world’s energy supplies transits and which has been effectively closed since the war began on the last day of February.
The UAE this week accused Iran of violating the fragile ceasefire—in place since 8 April— at least twice. Abu Dhabi said it intercepted at least 19 Iranian missiles and drones Monday, and reported another round of strikes Friday. Three Indians were “moderately injured” on Monday in an Iranian attack on a petroleum complex in Fujairah, the UAE’s Ministry of Defence announced.
On the same day, the US launched ‘Project Freedom’, an operation deploying guided missile destroyers to escort vessels through the strait, only to pause it by Tuesday after President Donald Trump indicated that Washington and Tehran were close to a final deal.
Despite the ceasefire, Trump said Friday that three American destroyers had transited the strait under fire, with missiles and drones launched at the ships. He said American assets suffered no damage, while “great damage” had been inflicted on Iranian attackers.
“A normal Country would have allowed these Destroyers to pass, but Iran is not a normal Country. They are led by LUNATICS, and if they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would do it, without question — But they’ll never have that opportunity and, just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST! Our three Destroyers, with their wonderful Crews, will now rejoin our Naval Blockade, which is truly a ‘Wall of Steel’,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the UAE on 15 May before continuing on a four-nation European tour through 20 May.