The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that bodies of six Indians killed in the Saudi airstrike on their boats off Yemen coast have been recovered while one Indian was still missing.
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the bodies were found near the boats, which were destroyed in the attack on 8 September in an area called al-Khokha near Hodeidah port. The bodies were fished out on Thursday (10 September) and taken to the military hospital in Djibouti.
The two boats--'Mustafa' and 'Asmar'--were carrying a total of 21 Indian nationals, suspected to be fuel smugglers. Following the Saudi airstrike, initially it was feared that at least 20 Indians were killed. However, later reports emerged that 14 of them had been rescued.
The 14 rescued Indians are currently in Hodeidah. Four of the rescued men are undergoing treatment in a local hospital.
Swarup said that all the 14 rescued Indians were in regular touch with their families and efforts were being made to ascertain the whereabouts of the one still missing.
The ministry said that the last rites of Indians killed in the airstrike will be performed in Hodeidah according to their religions. The MEA has taken verbal consent from the families, it said.
