23 Indians rescued from burning LPG tanker off Yemen coast

23 Indian crew members onboard MV Falcon, which caught fire and was adrift off the Yemen coast following an explosion, have been rescued and safely handed over to the Djiboutian Coast Guard.

The Cameroon-flagged MV Falcon, which was sailing southeast of the port of Aden, Yemen, with destination Djibouti, caught fire after an explosion onboard on Saturday. The vessel was fully loaded with liquefied petroleum gas



(LPG).

Upon receipt of an urgent distress request from the vessel’s master, UNAVFOR ASPIDES, a purely defensive operation that protects civilian ships and crews navigating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, initiated a search operation.

“EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, under the coordination of Rear Admiral Andrea Quondamatteo, Force Commander of ASPIDES, has successfully coordinated a SAR (SEARCH AND RESCUE) operation,” a statement released by ASPIDES said.