Indians grieve and call for action after US strike kills sailors
- Last updated: June 12, 2026 | 20:29
Sushila Devi sat sobbing on the floor of her house in Deoria, northern India after authorities told her that her husband was one of three sailors killed in a US attack on a ship off Oman.
"If he had told us about the dangers, I would have called him back," she cried out as women from the family gathered round to console her. "The government should not allow people to go there."
India on Friday took the rare step of lodging a second protest with the US over the strike that took place more than three months into the Iran war. Sushila Devi's words echoed calls also building up among Indians for their own government to do more to protect its sailors stuck in the Gulf.
CRITICS WANT MORE THAN 'ROUTINE PROTEST'
Her husband Shivanand Chaurasia, the sole earner in the family with two young children, was among 24 Indian mariners aboard the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello when it was hit on Wednesday.
The US military’s Central Command said an aircraft fired precision munitions into the vessel's engine room after the crew "repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces."
It said the strike was part of an ongoing blockade targeting oil shipments from Iran launched after Tehran sharply curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict.
India's foreign ministry said it had summoned the US chargé d’affaires to convey "its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping."
"Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time."
The US embassy in Delhi did not respond to a request for comment.
The deaths have prompted calls on India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go beyond registering protests.
India — the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers behind the Philippines according to government figures - has had to pay a huge cost for the conflict it played no part in starting, say opposition and other critics.
On Thursday, another ship with 20 Indian crew was attacked, with no deaths or injuries reported.
"India has responded ... with a routine diplomatic protest and apparent efforts to downplay the significance of the attacks," said Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs analyst in New Delhi.
OPPOSITION SAYS MODI SHOULD TALK TO TRUMP
"Had the victims been Chinese sailors instead, Beijing would almost certainly have reacted very differently, treating the strikes as a direct and lethal provocation by the US and elevating the incident into a major international crisis."
The opposition Aam Aadmi Party urged Modi to take up the matter with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of next week's Group of 7 summit.
The main opposition Congress party said the government’s policies had "emboldened external powers to act against Indian interests with impunity."
"India's strategic autonomy and abiding interests must be defended with clarity and resolve," it said.
Such attacks could deter workers from taking up seafaring jobs, potentially worsening labour shortages in the industry, said Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen's Union of India.
"The repeated incidents demonstrate the alarming deterioration of safety and security in one of the world’s most important maritime corridors," he said.
Reuters