Indian navy warship rescues 19 Pakistani nationals abducted by Somali pirates

Indian warship INS Sumitra rescued 19 Pakistani sailors after their fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates off the east coast of Somalia on Monday. This was the second anti-piracy operation carried out by the warship within 36 hours, according to the Indian Navy.

The Iranian-flagged fishing vessel FV Al Naeemi was boarded by 11 armed pirates who took the 19 crew members, all Pakistanis, hostage. The Navy warship intercepted the fishing vessel and persuaded the pirates to release the hostages.

The Navy personnel subsequently boarded the vessel to check on the crew's well-being. This swift rescue comes a day after INS Sumitra responded to an SOS call by another Iranian-flagged fishing vessel, FV Iman, which was hijacked by Somali pirates.

The vessel's 17 Iranian crew members were rescued by the Navy. INS Sumitra, within less than 36 hours, has rescued two hijacked fishing vessels, along with 36 crew members in the Southern Arabian Sea, approximately 850 nm West of Kochi.

INS Sumitra is an Indian Navy's indigenous offshore patrol vessel that has been deployed for anti-piracy and maritime security operations east of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. Earlier, Indian Navy's guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam, currently on an anti-piracy mission, had helped extinguish a massive fire onboard a merchant vessel after it was struck by a missile in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday night.

Also read: 9 Pakistani nationals killed by unidentified gunmen in Iran