Indian warship INS Kolkata has rescued 21 crew members, including one Indian national, after their Barbados-flagged cargo vessel was hit by a missile in the Gulf of Aden, a Navy spokesperson said on Thursday.

The crew members had abandoned bulk carrier MV True Confidence after it caught fire following the attack on Wednesday.

INS Kolkata, deployed for maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden, arrived at the scene of action at 4.45 pm and rescued 21 crew members, including one Indian national, from a life raft using its integral helicopter and boats, Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.

Critical medical aid was provided to the injured crew by the ship's medical team, he said.

The rescued crew, including the critically injured personnel, have been evacuated to Djibouti by INS Kolkata.

The Indian Navy warship swiftly responded to the maritime incident in Gulf of Aden, Madhwal said.

The Barbados-flagged vessel was reportedly hit by a drone approximately 55 nm south west of Aden resulting in the fire on board and critical injuries to some of the crew members forcing the crew to abandon the ship, he said.

The fresh incident came amid increasing global concerns over attacks on various commercial vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthi militants.

In the last few weeks, the Indian Navy has extended assistance to a number of merchant vessels in the Western Indian Ocean following attacks on them.

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