Embassy evacuates 19 Indian seafarers stuck in Yemen for two weeks

Nineteen Indian seafarers who had been stranded for two weeks in Yemen have been evacuated and are on their way back to India, the Indian Embassy in Yemen said on 8 November.

The sailors were stuck in the port city of Hodeidah and the capital, Sanaa. In a post on X, the embassy said all of them were safe and in good health, and thanked everyone who had helped with the evacuation.

The yacht incident

The evacuation comes about two weeks after another scare. On 23 October, the embassy said that 14 Indians aboard a yacht near Hodeidah were safe after an incident off the Yemeni coast. It is not clear whether those 14 are among the 19 now evacuated.

At the time, some Arab media quoted Yahya Saree, a spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthi movement. He said Saudi forces had targeted the yacht near Yuqar Island in the Red Sea, and that Houthi forces were rescuing the Indians on board. That account has not been confirmed by India.

Why it matters

Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has picked up again in recent weeks. Saudi Arabia has intercepted Houthi missiles and drones, and the Saudi-led coalition has carried out air strikes in Yemen. The violence has raised fears for shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key international shipping route.

According to a report by the news agency ANI, 23 Indian nationals, including seafarers, have died in the conflicts in West Asia.