'Very Very Unfortunate Incident': Republican Congressman Rob Wittman Condoles Over Killing Of 3 Indian Sailors In US Strike

Republican Congressman Rob Wittman on Thursday called the deaths of three Indian sailors off the coast of Oman after a US attack “a very, very unfortunate incident.” He said that the US military is trying to “determine exactly what happened”.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those Indian families who lost their loved ones there in that situation,” Wittman said, as quoted by South China Morning Post.

“I know that our United States military is looking into that to try to determine exactly what happened there, but again, an unfortunate incident, one we absolutely want to try to avoid,” the Congressman added.

Details of the attack

A US military missile strike on the Palau-flagged tanker M/T Settebello on Tuesday hit the vessel’s engine room and sparked a fire. Of the 28 crew members aboard, 24 were Indian nationals. While 21 Indians were rescued, three crew members were killed in the incident.

The US Central Command said the vessel was violating the “ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran” and posted a video of the attack on social media.

Two other commercial vessels, M/T Jalveer and M/T Marivex, which had Indian crew members aboard, were attacked by US naval forces in the past three days, with all those on board later rescued.

India lodges protest

India lodged a strong protest with the US, calling for an end to such attacks and urging dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace and stability in the region.

Notably, India on Wednesday summoned the United States' Chargé d’Affaires in New Delhi to lodge a strong protest over an attack on a commercial vessel off the coast of Oman that had 24 Indian crew members onboard, India Today reported.