Djibouti [Africa], October 22 (ANI): The Indian Navy's warship INS Trikand, deployed in the Gulf of Aden for maritime security operations, carried out a rescue and firefighting mission after a massive fire broke out on board the Cameroon-flagged LPG carrier MV Falcon off the coast of Djibouti, as per Indian Navy's spokesperson.

According to the Navy, the ship's crew swiftly responded to a distress call, coordinating with a civil tug hired by the shipping company to bring the blaze under control. Twenty-four of the 26 crew members, including 25 Indians and one British national, had managed to evacuate the vessel before INS Trikand arrived on the scene. They were rescued by merchant ships operating nearby.

A specialised team of firefighters and medical personnel from INS Trikand then boarded the heavily damaged MV Falcon, braving intense heat, toxic fumes, and structural damage to recover the mortal remains of the two missing crew members. The recovered remains were later handed over to the Indian Embassy in Djibouti, the Navy said in a statement.

The incident occurred on Saturday, October 18, when the MV Falcon, sailing from Oman's Sohar Port to Djibouti, experienced an explosion around 113 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen. The blast, which left about 15 per cent of the vessel engulfed in flames, forced the crew to abandon ship as the tanker drifted at sea.

British maritime security firm Ambrey said preliminary reports suggest the explosion was accidental, though the cause remains under investigation. Radio transmissions from the ship indicated the crew's desperate attempts to contain the fire before they were forced to abandon the vessel.

Following the explosion, the European Union's Naval Force Operation Aspides launched an immediate search and rescue operation. Twenty-three Indian crew members were rescued from the sea, while search efforts continued for the missing personnel until INS Trikand reached the site and completed recovery operations.

The incident comes amid heightened maritime tensions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where Yemen's Houthi rebels have repeatedly targeted commercial vessels over the past year, claiming solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza conflict.

The MV Falcon was carrying liquefied petroleum gas, a highly flammable cargo, raising fears of secondary explosions. Operation Aspides had earlier warned ships in the vicinity to maintain a safe distance due to the navigational hazards posed by the burning vessel. (ANI)