Seven Indians missing in Yemen air strikes: foreign ministry

Indian officials are in contact with local authorities to meet the owner of one of the boats to gain more information

NEW DELHI: Seven Indian nationals are missing in Yemen after air strikes hit their boats, as a Saudi-led coalition steps up attacks against rebels, the Indian foreign ministry said Wednesday.

One of the boats was travelling across the Red Sea from the Somalian port of Berbera to Mokha in Yemen when it came under fire on Tuesday, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"The boats were carrying a total of 20 Indian crew members of which 13 are alive and seven are reported missing," Vikas Swarup told reporters in New Delhi.

Read: 10 dead as intense coalition raids hit Yemen capital

Indian embassy officials are in contact with local authorities and are due to meet the owner of one of the boats in a bid to gain more information, including on the fate of the seven, Swarup said.

The comments came after media reports on Tuesday of 20 Indians killed in air strikes on fuel smugglers in Yemen.

A Saudi-led military coalition, of mainly Gulf Arab countries, has increased its air strikes against Shia Huthi rebels in Yemen since a deadly missile attack on coalition soldiers on Friday.

Read: 20 Indian nationals killed by Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen's Hodeidah port: residents

The coalition launched its strikes in March against the Iran-backed rebels when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled to neighbouring Saudi Arabia after they entered his last refuge, Yemen's second city Aden.

India closed it embassy in Yemen one month later and evacuated more than 4,500 nationals.