New Delhi: A wooden dhow – a wooden sailing vessel – carrying general cargo capsized close to the Strait of Hormuz on Friday (May 8) after it caught fire, killing one of the 18 Indian crew members on board and injuring four others, according to a source in the government of India.“The exact cause of the fire is being ascertained”, the government source said.According to the source, the crew members were rescued by a vessel which was passing by. Owing to this mishap, they said “one Indian on the dhow has died while four others have received burn injuries”.“The injured are receiving medical treatment in Dubai and are safe. Our officials from the Indian consulate met the rescued Indian nationals yesterday night itself”, the source added.They also said that the consulate is in touch with the dhow’s owner and extending all possible assistance.India’s consulate in Dubai confirmed the incident on Saturday afternoon but did not say in its X post where it took place.The incident comes amid escalating tensions in the region.At least eight Indian nationals have been killed in various incidents, including attacks on their facilities or vessels and falling debris, during the West Asia war.On May 9, 2026, 71 days since the US-Israeli war on Iran began, the US fired on two Iran-flagged oil tankers along the Gulf of Oman, despite a truce announced between the fighting sides on April 7.The US Central Command reported that it carried out the strikes after three US navy ships were attacked by Iranian missiles, drones and small boats in the Strait of Hormuz.Shipping activity through the strait, a crucial maritime route linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s global oil and natural gas shipments pass, has remained near stagnant since Iran’s virtual blockade of it in retaliation to the US-Israeli attacks.