Day after Yemen strike, MEA says 13 Indians alive, 7 missing

“We have seen media reports about the death of Indian nationals in Yemen. Indian Embassy officials in Djibouti are in touch with local contacts and we have ascertained that there were two boats, one of which was plying between Berbera (Somalia) and Mokha (Yemen),” Swarup said.

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Swarup added that no other information is currently available regarding the identities of the Indian nationals.

“Embassy officials are in constant touch with local authorities and are also due to meet with the boat owner today, at which point of time more information would be available,” he said.

Also read: 20 Indians reportedly killed in Saudi airstrikes in Yemen

The India Embassy in Yemen was shut down in April after evacuation of its nationals. This has put the Indian government in a spot over finding the seven missing Indians.

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, which began in April, had prompted India to evacuate more than 6,000 Indians and thousands of foreign nationals.
Titled Operation Rahat, it had surprised many by its scale and speed. The Indian Air Force, Navy, aviation authorities and shipping agencies had coordinated with the Ministries of External Affairs, Defence, Railways, and several state governments to execute the evacuation process.

They had been able to get coordinated “window periods” — when the Saudis won’t conduct airstrikes and Yemen won’t shoot at the airplanes — and New Delhi had proudly hailed it as a diplomatic success to get both warring parties to suspend fighting while Indians carried out the evacuation.

While it is not clear what these 20 Indians were doing travelling in boats, it is unusual for Indians to try to escape the bombing in such a risky situation. To prevent Indians from getting caught in conflict areas, the Indian government usually issues advisories so that they don’t travel to such areas. But with lucrative job opportunities in such areas, many choose to take that risk.