SANAA, Yemen: Ten crew members of a cargo ship sunk by Yemen’s Houthis in July have been released and flown from the capital, Sanaa, to Oman, rebel media reported Wednesday (Dec 3).
“The crew of the ship Eternity C have been released through Omani mediation, and a plane is transporting them from Sanaa to Muscat,” the Houthi rebels’ Al-Masirah television channel reported.
Ten of the crew “left Sanaa airport” on Wednesday afternoon, the channel later said on X.
Footage broadcast by Oman TV showed the crew arriving in the capital, Muscat, where Omani and Philippine officials received them.
The news came a day after Philippine authorities said nine Filipino crew members of the ship were set to be released by the Iran-backed group.
A Houthi security source told AFP that the crew’s release was part of an agreement. “An agreement was reached with the Omani side for the return of the sick and wounded who are abroad. They will be handed over to Sanaa, and the crew of the Eternity C will be handed over to the Omani side,” the source said.
A Houthi political source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that the deal was the result of “pressure” from Sanaa.
He said that “the Omani plane that transported the released crew also brought back wounded individuals… who were receiving treatment abroad, as well as others stranded in other countries.”
He added that an Omani political delegation had also arrived in Yemen’s capital to discuss “the progress of negotiations with Saudi Arabia regarding the humanitarian file.”
The Houthis released a video of the attack on the Eternity C at the time, saying they had “rescued” an unspecified number of the crew and taken them to a safe location.
The Liberian-flagged Eternity C is one of two commercial vessels sunk within days of each other in the Red Sea in July.
The attacks were part of their campaign against maritime traffic that they accused of having links to Israel.
The campaign was launched in what the rebels described as solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Houthis have not claimed attacks on Israel or on shipping since a Gaza truce came into place in October. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
