24 Pakistanis among 27 crew aboard LNG gas tanker attacked by Israel at Yemen port

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that an Israeli drone attacked a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker with 27 crew members, including 24 Pakistanis, while docked at a Yemeni port earlier this month.

"An LPG tanker with 27 crew members (24 Pakistanis, including Captain Mukhtar Akbar; 2 Sri Lankans; 1 Nepali) was attacked by an Israeli drone while docked at Ras al-Esa port (under Houthi control) on 17 September 2025," said Naqvi on the US social media company X.

The crew extinguished the fire when one LPG tank exploded, but the ship was intercepted by Houthi boats, and the crew was held hostage on board.

The tanker and its crew were released by the Houthis and are now out of Yemeni waters, according to Naqvi.

He appreciated the role of civil and security officials in securing the "safe release" of Pakistani citizens under extraordinary conditions, when hope was fading.

The Houthis and Israel have exchanged attacks in the past months amid rising tension over Tel Aviv’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, where more than 65,500 people have been killed since October 2023.