A Cameroonian ship caught fire and was abandoned in waters just south of Yemen, where the Houthi rebels are known to attack ships.
Conflicting reports from the United Kingdom and European Union officials indicated the ship may have been struck by a projectile or could have caught on fire by accident.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations issued an alert about the vessel, MV FALCON, early Saturday, saying it was “hit by an unknown projectile, resulting with a fire” just over 130 miles east of Aden, a port city. In a subsequent update, the organization said it “cannot rule out an onboard accident” after failing to confirm the source of the explosion.
The EU’s Operation Aspides reported that the ship, which was sailing to Djibouti, “was on fire and adrift after an explosion onboard,” and that “the fire was caused by an accident.”
In later updates, the EU said the fire, which initially affected 15% of the vessel, was only increasing.
“MV FALCON represents a navigational hazard. Everyone in the area must exercise caution and refrain from any actions that could deteriorate the current situation,” they said.
They also warned other vessels in the area that the ship could explode because it was “fully loaded” with liquefied petroleum gas.
Search and rescue operations were launched for the crew, which was composed of 25 Indians and one Ukrainian. Two crew members were reported missing in the latest update from the EU.
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According to the Jerusalem Post, a Houthi defense official denied involvement in the explosion.
The Israeli military also confirmed to the Associated Press that they did not perform any operation in the area.
