What Happened to the Burning Vessel Off the Coast of Yemen?

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Reuters reported that the European Union Maritime Mission announced that a Cameroon-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker exploded and caught fire on Saturday off the coast of Yemen.

According to the report, the crew of the ship was forced to abandon ship after the explosion.

The European mission, known as Aspides, said in a statement: The tanker MV Falcon is currently on fire and is near the coast of Yemen.

The spread of the fire has created a danger to shipping in the area, and all vessels in the vicinity have been asked to maintain a safe distance from the tanker.

The exact cause of the explosion is not yet known, but initial evidence suggests it was likely an accidental incident.

The ship is said that 15 percent of the ship has burned. 

At the time, a search and rescue operation was underway for the tanker's 26-member crew. Two merchant ships near the scene have so far rescued 24 of the crew, but 2 are still missing.

The MV Falcon was en route from Sohar, Oman, to Djibouti when the incident occurred about 113 nautical miles southeast of the port of Aden in southern Yemen, security sources said.

Security sources stressed that there were no signs of a missile or drone attack in the area and that the nature of the incident did not match the pattern of attacks by Ansar Allah.

Also, an official from the Ministry of Defense of Yemen denied any connection between the group and the incident in an interview with Saba News Agency.