Indian sailor killed after cargo dhow is hit by an 'unidentified aerial object' off Oman near Hormuz

An Indian-flagged cargo dhow, the MSV Al Jusufi, was struck by an "unidentified aerial object" near Limah, Oman, at the southern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, on Monday afternoon, India's government said Tuesday. One of its 14 Indian crew members, Gandhar Nahim Ajij, 26, of Salaya in Gujarat, died of his injuries on the way to a hospital at Khasab Port. The other 13 were rescued by Oman's Coast Guard.

"I am deeply saddened to report that one of our seafarers... tragically succumbed to his injuries," Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal posted on X. India's Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack, calling attacks on commercial shipping in the region "deeply concerning" and urging "immediate de-escalation of tensions." The Hindustan Times reports all 14 crew abandoned the vessel in a life raft after it was hit.

No one has claimed the attack. According to the Hindustan Times, 23 Indians, 15 of them seafarers, have been killed since the war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. The attack came the same day U.S. forces struck an Iranian missile launcher on Qeshm Island.