Two Indian crew members died and a third is reported missing following an attack by U.S. forces on the oil tanker Settebello off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, according to a senior union official.
Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI), identified the deceased as Aditya Sharma, a deck cadet, and Shivanand Chaurasiya, an engine fitter. The chief engineer, Patnala Suresh, remains unaccounted for.
The Indian government had earlier stated that all three were missing. Yadav’s confirmation of the two deaths marks an escalation in the casualty figures.
In a post on X, US Central Command said an aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged Settebello “after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces”.
India’s government said three Indian sailors were missing and 21 Indian crew members had been rescued after the attack on the Settebello off the coast of Oman.
It said the “targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end”.
The US military blocked access to Iran’s ports after Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies are transported, during the ongoing conflict.
