ALAPPUZHA: A Kayamkulam native posted as security officer has been missing since July 7 after Houthi rebels attacked and sunk the cargo ship he was on in the Red Sea.
Anilkumar Raveendran, 52, of Pathiyoor is among the 12 crew members of Liberia-flagged M V Eternity C who are missing since the attack. One other Keralite crew member, Augustine from Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram, was rescued along with six others by the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR).
Anilkumar, a retired Indian Army officer, last contacted his family via phone on July 6, a day before the attack and told them the ship was heading towards the Red Sea. The family is now frantically seeking information about his whereabouts.
Anilkumar’s wife Sreeja, who was officially informed about his disappearance by the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, has reached out to the Union government as well as Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal urging immediate intervention to locate and rescue her husband.
MV Eternity C was en route to the Israeli port of Eilat when it was attacked and subsequently sunk allegedly by Houthi militants, who have stepped up assaults on international shipping in the region amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
Of the total crew members, who include those from India, the Philippines, Russia and Greece, four died in the attack. International maritime forces in the region are reportedly engaged in the search and rescue of the 12 missing crew members.
Meanwhile, Augustine arrived at his native place on Wednesday. On Thursday, Sreeja and other relatives of Anilkumar visited him. She said Augustine told her that the missile strike on the ship took place on July 7.
“Immediately, the ship issued a rescue alert. While another ship responded, it aborted rescue efforts after the rebels fired another missile,” Sreeja said, adding that three crew members died on the spot, while one other suffered serious injuries in the first attack.
“The ship also suffered heavy damage. The rest of the crew jumped into the sea with life jackets. The rebels fired more missiles, and a huge wave that formed in the impact scattered the crew. For nearly 24 hours, they floated in the sea, before a rescue team arrived and saved Augustine and the others,” Sreeja said. She said Augustine is unsure about Anilkumar’s whereabouts; he suspects he was caught by the militants.
“So, the intervention of the Indian embassies in Saudi or Sanaa (Yemen) is required to rescue Anilkumar and others,” Sreeja said.