At least 4 presumed dead, 11 missing after Houthi rebels sink ship in Red Sea, EU naval mission says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Four people are presumed dead and 11 others are still missing after a Liberian-flagged cargo ship sank in the Red Sea following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a European Union naval mission said Friday.

The update from the EU’s Operation Aspides came as private security forces continue to search for survivors from the Eternity C, a Greek-owned bulk carrier that sank on Wednesday.

Ten people were recovered alive from the attack, including eight Filipino crew members and a Greek and Indian from the vessel’s three-man security team, the EU operation said.

Fifteen people remain unaccounted for, including the four presumed dead, the mission said.

“All nearby vessels are advised to have a sharp look out,” the EU mission said.

The Houthis have said they hold some of the crew. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen — which has operated from Saudi Arabia for about a decade — has described the Houthis as having “kidnapped” the mariners.

The death toll is the highest from any seaborne assault carried out by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the crucial maritime trade route where $1 trillion in cargo once passed through annually.

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The rebels say they are attacking ships to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war, and have in total sank four vessels and killed sailors who had no direct role in the war.

The attack on the Eternity C followed the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas in a similar attack last weekend. Neither the European naval force nor the U.S. had been escorting the two vessels when they were attacked.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Houthi attacks, calling them “a dangerous re-escalation in this critical waterway.”

“Beyond being an unacceptable attack on the safety and security of seafarers, these acts also violated the freedom of navigation, caused a hazard to maritime transport and represent a serious risk of a significant environmental, economic and humanitarian damage to an already vulnerable coastal environment,” he added in a statement.

The Houthis have held mariners in the past. After seizing the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader in November 2023, the rebels held the crew until January this year.

From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels.

A new possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war — as well as the future of talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear program — remain in the balance.