70 Indian seamen stranded in Yemen

Ahmedabad - Sikandar, a sailor, sent an audio message in which he said that they last night came under a bomb attack.

Nearly 70 sailors from the Indian state of Gujarat are stranded in crisis-hit Yemen for over 15 days now and have appealed to the Indian government to rescue them, days after six Indians were killed when their boat came under Saudi-led air strikes in the country.
According to a sailors' group, nearly 70 seamen from the coastal village of Mandavi in Kutch and from the Jodiya and Salaya villages of Jamnagar are stranded in Yemen along with five of their cargo boats.
"About 70 Gujarati sailors along with five vessels are stranded in Yemen for around 15 days and they now need the government's help for their rescue," Vahanvatta Association of Kutch and Mandavi president Haji Juneja told PTI.
Read: 6 Indians found dead after airstrikes hit boats off Yemen
"I yesterday wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs urging them to save our sailors or shift them to a safer place," he said.
"The sailors are in a pitiable condition as some forces have been bombarding them. They escaped death last night," he said, adding that the sailors had gone to Yemen on a voyage to deliver cargo.
Read: Victory will be ours in Yemen: UAE soldiers
Watch: Visiting families of UAE soldiers who were martyred in Yemen war
Meanwhile, one of the stranded sailors, identified as Sikandar from Mandavi village, sent an audio message last night in which he said that they last night came under a bomb attack.
"I am an Indian. My name is Sikandar. We are at Khokha port. They have lobbed three rockets and we somehow managed to save ourselves. We are running here and there to save ourselves," Sikandar says in the message.
"We are 70 Indians stranded here along with five ships. They have been bombarding us with warplanes. Please help us. We are Indians. We are in great difficulty. They will kill us. Please save us," he said.

• MENA
• India