Rescuers hunt Red Sea crew as US says Yemen rebels may be holding them

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Rescuers searched Thursday for more than a dozen crew members who went missing after Yemen's Houthi rebels sank a ship in the Red Sea as the United States alleged the group may “have kidnapped” those on board.

The Houthis released dramatic footage of the sinking of the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned Eternity C, which the rebels targeted with gunfire and explosive drones for hours, killing at least three crew members.

The attack on the Eternity C, as well as the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas after another attack Sunday, represent a new level of violence being employed by the Houthis after a months of holding their fire in a campaign they tie back to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, a new possible ceasefire in that war — as well as the future of talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear program — remain in the balance. The Houthis claimed that it fired a missile at Israel on Thursday morning, which the Israeli military said that it intercepted.

A statement from the European Union naval mission in the Red Sea said the crew of the Eternity C included 22 sailors, among them 21 Filipinos and one Russian, as well as a three-member security team. Rescuers on Wednesday recovered five Filipinos and one Indian.

Three people also were killed during the hourslong attack on the ship, the EU force said, and their nationalities weren't immediately known.

In footage released by the Houthis, a rebel can be purportedly heard on a VHF radio transmission offering those on board the ability to flee the sinking vessel. However, it wasn't clear if any more crew fled and what happened to them.

In a post late Wednesday on the X, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen — which has operated from Saudi Arabia for about a decade now — alleged that the rebels may have taken some of the crew.

“After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship and hampering rescue efforts, the Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members of the Eternity C,” the embassy said. “We call for their immediate and unconditional safe release.”

The Houthis haven't acknowledged taking any of the fleeing crew members and didn't mention whether it had any of them in their custody. However, the rebels can take days at times before acknowledging attacks.

In the Philippines, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said that he has been leading an effort to reach out to the families of the missing Filipino sailors to update them on the search and rescue efforts.

“It’s human nature that one should be terribly worried and distraught about the situation,” Cacdac told The Associated Press by telephone. “It’s our role in government to be there for them in their utmost hour of need to ensure that not just government services, but throughout this hand-holding process, we will provide the necessary support.”

The Eternity C, flagged out of Liberia but owned by a Greek firm, likely had been targeted like the Magic Seas over its firm doing business with Israel. Neither vessel apparently requested an escort from the EU force.

___

Jim Gomez contributed to this report from Manila, Philippines.