DJIBOUTI: The Indian Navy’s warship INS Trikand, deployed within the Gulf of Aden for maritime safety operations, carried out a rescue and firefighting mission after an enormous hearth broke out on board the Cameroon-flagged LPG service MV Falcon off the coast of Djibouti, as per Indian Navy’s spokesperson. In accordance with the Navy, the ship’s crew swiftly responded to a misery name, coordinating with a civil tug employed by the delivery firm to convey the blaze underneath management. Twenty-four of the 26 crew members, together with 25 Indians and one British nationwide, had managed to evacuate the vessel earlier than INS Trikand arrived on the scene. They had been rescued by service provider ships working close by.
A specialised crew of firefighters and medical personnel from INS Trikand then boarded the closely broken MV Falcon, braving intense warmth, poisonous fumes, and structural harm to recuperate the mortal stays of the 2 lacking crew members. The recovered stays had been later handed over to the Indian Embassy in Djibouti, the Navy mentioned in a press release.
The incident occurred on Saturday, October 18, when the MV Falcon, crusing from Oman’s Sohar Port to Djibouti, skilled an explosion round 113 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen. The blast, which left about 15 per cent of the vessel engulfed in flames, compelled the crew to desert ship because the tanker drifted at sea.
#IndianNavy‘s warship #INSTrikand mission deployed within the Gulf of Aden for maritime safety operations, rendered crucial firefighting and #SAR help to Cameroon-flagged LPG service, MT Falcon working off the coast of Djibouti.
The ship undertook firefighting operation… pic.twitter.com/CGHj8QaWhr
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) October 22, 2025
British maritime safety agency Ambrey mentioned preliminary reviews recommend the explosion was unintentional, although the trigger stays underneath investigation. Radio transmissions from the ship indicated the crew’s determined makes an attempt to include the hearth earlier than they had been compelled to desert the vessel.
Following the explosion, the European Union’s Naval Power Operation Aspides launched a right away search and rescue operation. Twenty-three Indian crew members had been rescued from the ocean, whereas search efforts continued for the lacking personnel till INS Trikand reached the positioning and accomplished restoration operations.
The incident comes amid heightened maritime tensions within the Crimson Sea and Gulf of Aden, the place Yemen’s Houthi rebels have repeatedly focused industrial vessels over the previous yr, claiming solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza battle.
The MV Falcon was carrying liquefied petroleum gasoline, a extremely flammable cargo, elevating fears of secondary explosions. Operation Aspides had earlier warned ships within the neighborhood to keep up a secure distance because of the navigational hazards posed by the burning vessel.