A helicopter rescues crew members on the Barbados-flagged True Confidence cargo ship. — AFP/VNA Photo

CAIRO — The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and Djibouti is taking citizen protection measures for Vietnamese sailors working on the Barbados-flagged True Confidence cargo ship which was struck by a Houthi ballistic missile off the coast of Yemen on March 6.

Ambassador Nguyễn Huy Dũng said that one of the four Vietnamese crewmen on the ship died in the attack and his body is now kept at a hospital in Djibouti City, Djibouti.

Meanwhile, the remaining three, along with other alive crewmen, were evacuated to Laurie Hotel, Djibouti City with the help of India’s navy, and are now in stable health condition but have lost all of their personal documents due to the attack.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti stands ready to support the Vietnamese seafarers with necessary documents to return home, he said, adding the Vietnamese embassy is preparing measures to reissue passports for the crewmen as well as related procedures to bring the body of the deceased home as soon as possible.

Dũng said in case of necessity, the embassy will send its staff to Djibouti to support the sailors.

The embassy is contacting competent sides to identify a specific repatriation route for the nationals, he said.

There were 20 crew members, consisting of 15 Filipinos, four Vietnamese, and one Indian, on board the True Confidence when the Houthi forces fired a missile at the ship. The strike also resulted in the deaths of two Filipinos. — VNA/VNS