The Philippine government on Thursday confirmed the death of two seafarers in a recent missile strike by the Houthi group on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, off southern Yemen.

In a statement, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said two other Filipino sailors were also severely injured.

The cargo ship True Confidence on Wednesday was hit by several anti-ship ballistic missiles some 50 nautical miles southwest of Aden port.

Some reports said the vessel had 20 crew members, comprising 15 Filipino nationals. The DMW did not give details on the number of Filipinos aboard but said it has coordinated with the principal shipowner and manning agency "on the repatriation of the remaining Filipino crew members."

The authorities have taken the surviving Filipinos to a safe port, it added.

The Philippines is among the biggest suppliers of maritime labor in the world, providing almost one-fifth of the worldwide 1.2 million seafarers, according to the International Labor Organization.

Last November, 17 Filipino seafarers were taken hostage after an Israeli cargo ship was hijacked by Yemen's Houthi group in the Red Sea and have yet to be released.

(Cover: The Rubymar cargo ship sinking off the coast of Yemen, February 27, 2024. /AFP)