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

After the Foreign Office (FO) said earlier today that Pakistanis aboard the LPG tanker were safe and sound and making their way out of Yemeni waters, Naqvi posted on X that the vessel was attacked on September 17 while it was docked at the Ras Issa port, which was under the control of Houthi rebels.

Israel has launched repeated attacks on Houthi targets during the Gaza conflict, as the Iran-backed rebels fire missiles and drones at Israel and Red Sea shipping, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

According to Naqvi, apart from Pakistanis, the LPG tanker’s crew included two Sri Lankans and a Nepali. He said the vessel’s captain was also a Pakistani.

Naqvi added that an LPG tank had exploded following the attack, but the crew managed to extinguish the fire.

“The vessel was subsequently stopped by Houthi boats and the crew were held hostage aboard the ship,” he said, adding that the tanker and its crew “have now been released by the Houthis and are out of Yemeni waters”.

Naqvi said he was “profoundly grateful to Secretary Interior Khurram Agha and other MOI (Ministry of Interior) officers, Ambassador Naveed Bokhari and his team in Oman, our colleagues in Saudi Arabia, and especially the officials of our security agencies who worked day and night under extraordinary conditions to secure the safe release of our citizens when hope was fading”.

Earlier, the FO said 24 Pakistani nationals aboard the vessel were safe and sound and making their way out of Yemeni waters.

The FO also said that the tanker had caught fire off the coast of Yemen on September 17, adding that upon receiving the news about the incident, the relevant Pakistan embassies had established contacts with the authorities in Yemen to ensure the well-being of the crew.

“Efforts were made to set the tanker underway again,” it added.

The FO further stated that diplomatic missions also maintained contact with the family members of the Pakistani crew and kept them updated about the latest situation.

“Today, the LPG tanker has departed [from the] port and is making [its] way out of Yemeni waters. The entire crew, including Pakistani nationals, on board is safe and sound,” it said.