Three killed after Egyptian fishing boat hits mine in Red Sea

Three Egyptian fishermen were killed after their vessel struck a naval mine in the southern Red Sea on Wednesday, February 5.

The incident occurred at around 02:00 local time when the unidentified vessel came in contact with the explosive device, causing it to detonate. The resulting explosion instantly killed three of the fishing boat's crew of six and left the vessel heavily damaged that it sank within minutes.

Naval vessels from the Saudi-led Arab Military Coalition later arrived at the scene and were able to rescue the three surviving Egyptian fishermen.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said that the mine was placed in the water by Yemeni Houthi rebels to disrupt international trade and other maritime traffic passing through the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.