A handout picture released by Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Centre showing the smoke plumes rising from reported explosions on the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Magic Seas, which was attacked by Huthi-affiliated fighters. Photo / AFP
A handout picture released by Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Centre showing the smoke plumes rising from reported explosions on the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Magic Seas, which was attacked by Huthi-affiliated fighters. Photo / AFP
Ten people have been rescued after Yemen’s Houthi rebel group sank a cargo ship. Three people were killed and 12 were missing in one of the group’s deadliest Red Sea attacks.
Three Filipino crew and a Greek member of the Eternity C’s onboard security team were plucked from the seaovernight, “bringing the total number of those rescued to 10”, the European Union’s Operation Aspides naval task force posted on X.
The Iran-backed Houthis said yesterday that they had “rescued” an unspecified number of the Eternity C’s crew and taken them to a safe location. The US embassy for Yemen accused the rebels of kidnapping the survivors.
The deadly attack was the rebels’ second assault on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea in recent days and threatened a May truce with the United States that ended weeks of air strikes on Houthi targets.
Rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi said both ships belonged to companies serving Israeli ports, and the attacks would continue “as long as the [Israeli] aggression and siege of Gaza persist”.
The Houthis released a video showing the Liberian-flagged Eternity C being attacked and sunk, after they scuttled the Magic Seas on Sunday.
A total of 25 people were on the Eternity C, according to Operation Aspides.
Earlier this week, the EU force told AFP that three people were killed in the Houthi attack and at least two wounded, including a Russian electrician who lost a leg.
The two sinkings broke a months-long lull in Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which began after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The attacks, which the Huthis say target Israel-linked shipping in solidarity with the Palestinians, have prompted many firms to avoid a route that normally carries about 12% of global trade.
Huthi-affiliated fighters carrying out an attack on the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Magic Seas at sea. Photo / AFP
‘Grave concern’
The Huthis, who control large swaths of Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, had paused their attacks after a Gaza ceasefire started in January.
Huthi-held areas of Yemen came under weeks of heavy bombardment by the US before a ceasefire was agreed in May. However, the rebels told AFP at the time that they would continue to attack “Israeli” ships.
The Magic Seas and Eternity C were probably attacked “due to prior Israeli port calls or ownership/ship manager affiliations”, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by Western navies.
The United Nations envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, expressed “grave concern” over the latest attacks that resulted in “civilian loss of life and casualties as well as the potential for environmental damage”.
While the Magic Seas crew were rescued by an Emirati ship, the attack on the Eternity C was the deadliest since three people were killed in a missile attack on the True Confidence in March last year.
Other Houthi attacks include the storming and hijacking of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier, in November 2023, and the sinking of the Rubymar carrying 21,000 tonnes of fertiliser in February 2024.
