An Indian national who went missing after an attack on commercial vessel GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman on Sunday is dead, his father-in-law said on Wednesday. Heramb Karmarkar, 30, hailing from Maharashtra's Pune, was a marine engineer on the Cyprus-flagged container ship that was attacked off the coast of Oman on Sunday.
The vessel, with 11 Indians in its 24-member crew, was struck by an "unidentified projectile", Cyprus authorities had said. Iran said it had struck the ship after it attempted to transit through an unauthorised route despite warnings to correct its course.
Family says vessel company confirms death
Karmarkar's father-in-law, Vivek Tandon, told news agency Reuters that the company operating the vessel had informed him of his son-in-law's death. However, an official confirmation from the Ministry of External Affairs is yet to come.
Karmarkar is the second Indian seafarer to be killed in the region in three days. Another Indian seafarer was killed on Tuesday after two vessels were attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. According to a report by Dainik Jagran correspondent, the deceased man was identified as Sonu Kumar Gupta, a resident of Bihar's Gopalganj.
Iran claims vessels had ignored warnings
While responding to the latest attacks on commerical vessels, Tehran claimed the vessels had ignored repeated warnings, switched off their navigation systems, and attempted to sail through what it described as a "mined route" despite clear instructions from its forces.
India lodges strong protest
Earlier on July 14, New Delhi lodged a strong protest with Iran after summoning its deputy ambassador over Tuesday’s killing. Tehran says it has again closed the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities with Washington reignited last week, but US President Donald Trump says the waterway is open to all shipping traffic except that of Iran.
(With inputs from Reuters)
You may also like to watch