ALAPPUZHA: Two Keralites, including a Kayamkulam native, are on board the UAE ship hijacked by Houthi rebels. Deck cadet Akhil Reghu, 26, son of Reghu, of Chirayilpadethathil, Avoor, Cheppad, is on board the ship. Another Malayali, who works in the kitchen, is also on board the ship Rawabee, but his identity has not been disclosed by the shipping company Liwa Marine.
According to Rahul Reghu, Akhil’s brother, he is also working in the same shipping company in UAE. The last call from Akhil to his native place was at 11pm on Sunday. There was no information about him after that. “The company has not yet disclosed the identity of employees and we are eagerly waiting for a positive reply from the company. The ship started cruising very recently and details of Indians on board are not known. When he called me earlier, he said that four Indians, including another Keralite, were in the ship. But the details about the Keralite is not known,” he told TNIE over phone from UAE.
Jithina, wife of Akhil, said that Akhil called her at 11 pm on Sunday and he was online till 1pm (IST) and later there was no information about him, she said from Ukraine where she is doing MBBS final year.
“Our marriage was on August 20 and Akhil left to UAE by September and started cruising on October 10,” said Jithina a native of Ramapuram, Keerikkad, Kayakmulam.
A M Ariff, MP, has sent a letter to Union Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar and Minister of State V Muraleedharan requesting action from the Centre to save the Indians. Relatives of Akhil have also lodged complaints with union ministers and the chief minister demanding urgent action.
The ship was hijacked near the port city of Hodeidah, which is around 50km distance from the Yemen coast. The ship was transporting materials as part of shifting a Saudi field hospital from Yemen’s Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean to Jazan, situated south of the Saudi kingdom. The cargo includes ambulances, medical communication equipment, field kitchens and laundry as well as technical and security support equipment, said a spokesperson of the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition to restore the internationally recognised Government of Yemen after a coup by Houthis in 2014 sparked a bloody civil war. The situation in Yemen has been described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.