‘People were burning’: Crew members of ship hit by Houthis recount attack

Survivors of a missile attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a commercial vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have recounted the harrowing details of the incident. According to Yemeni authorities, three ballistic missiles struck the ship before dawn on Tuesday, killing six people and injuring at least nine others. Reports indicate that a second missile hit the vessel while rescue operations for the initial strike were still underway.

Zaheer Ahmed, a Pakistani crew member recovering at a hospital in the port city of Mokha, described the scene as a "doomsday" scenario, stating that he witnessed people burning. Muhammad Al Taindo, an Indonesian crew member, recounted his failed attempt to rescue a colleague trapped in their shared cabin, noting that the intensity of the flames made it impossible to intervene.

According to the Yemeni military, the fatalities include three Pakistani crew members and two members of the government-allied National Resistance Forces. The attack is part of an escalating campaign by the Houthis, who have intensified their targeting of vessels linked to Saudi Arabia in the strategic strait.

The incident has raised concerns about the potential reignition of Yemen’s civil war and the opening of a new front in the Middle East conflict. The Houthis had previously declared a blockade on Saudi-linked ships in retaliation for the long-standing siege on Yemen and recent strikes on the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.