Yemen's Houthi Missile Hits Ship in Gulf of Aden

A missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels hit a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden, with the crew reporting three people killed and at least four wounded, the US military said.

An anti-ship ballistic missile struck the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned True Confidence, after which its crew reported "three fatalities, at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition, and significant damage to the ship", the US Central Command said in a statement.

"The crew abandoned the ship and coalition warships responded and are assessing the situation," it said, noting the attack was the fifth time the Houthis had launched an anti-ship ballistic missile in two days.

The Indian Navy said that it rescued 21 crew members, including an Indian national.

It published video footage of the rescue operation, saying eight people were winched to safety by helicopter while others were evacuated to hospitals in Djibouti.

The Philippine government's Department of Migrant Workers said in a statement that two of the crew members killed were Filipinos and two others were "severely injured".

The United States and Britain have launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen since January in response to the ship attacks but the rebels have continued to target merchant vessels.

The latest incident comes after a Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated ship sank with 21,000 metric tonnes of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer on board.

The ship, called the Rubymar, had been taking on water since it was hit by a Houthi missile on February 18 that damaged its hull and forced the evacuation of its crew to Djibouti.

The flurry of Houthi strikes has caused several major shipping firms to suspend passage through the Red Sea, which usually carries around 12 percent of global trade.