Indian Navy Shows Power Off Yemen Coast; INS Trikand Battles Blaze, Rescues Crew In Daring Operation | India News

Djibouti: According to the statement made by the Indian Navy spokesperson, the Indian Navy’s warship INS Trikand, which was assigned for maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden, carried out a rescue and firefighting mission after the major fire that broke out on the Cameroon-flagged LPG carrier MV Falcon off the coast of Djibouti. According to the Navy, the ship’s crew quickly responded to a distress call in coordination with a civilian tugboat chartered by the shipping company to contain the fire. 24 of the 26 crew members, including 25 Indians and one British national, managed to evacuate the ship before INS Trikand arrived on the scene. They were rescued by commercial ships operating nearby.

A specialist team of firefighters and medical personnel from INS Trikand then boarded the badly damaged MV Falcon, braving intense heat, toxic fumes and structural damage to recover the lifeless remains of the two missing crew members. In a statement made by the Navy, it was stated that the recovered remains were later handed over to the Indian Embassy in Djibouti.

The incident occurred on Saturday, October 18, when the MV Falcon, traveling from Oman’s Sohar Port to Djibouti, experienced an explosion 113 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen. The explosion, which caused approximately 15 percent of the ship to burst into flames, caused the crew to abandon the ship while the tanker was drifting at sea.

#IndianNavywarship #INSTrikand Deployed in the Gulf of Aden for maritime security operations, the mission includes critical firefighting and #SAR Assistance to the Cameroon flagged LPG carrier MT Falcon operating off the coast of Djibouti.

Fire extinguishing work started on the ship… pic.twitter.com/CGHj8QaWhr— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) 22 October 2025

British maritime safety firm Ambrey said preliminary reports suggested the explosion was accidental, but the cause was under investigation. Radio transmissions from the ship showed the crew trying desperately to contain the fire before they were forced to abandon ship.

After the explosion, the European Union Naval Forces’ Operation Aspides launched an emergency search and rescue operation. While twenty-three Indian crew members were rescued from the sea, the search for the missing personnel continued until INS Trikand reached the site and completed rescue operations.

The incident occurred amid rising maritime tensions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have repeatedly targeted commercial ships last year, claiming solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza conflict.

The fact that the MV Falcon was carrying liquefied petroleum gas, a highly flammable cargo, raised fears of secondary explosions. Operation Aspides had previously warned nearby ships to maintain a safe distance due to navigational hazards posed by the burning ship.