By IANS
Sana’a : A freight vessel carrying about 10,000 head of cattle intended for a feast to mark an Islamic festival sank near the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea.
The accident occurred Monday and all the cattle head on board drowned. However, all 22 members of the crew were rescued by Yemeni coastguards, WAM news agency reported.
A naval source in Al Hudeida province in Yemen was quoted by local media as saying the coastguards rushed to the area where the ship was stranded and were able to rescue the crew members and transport them to Al-Makha port.
The ship was coming from Somalia towards Djibouti. It was not immediately known why the vessel capsized.
The animals were to be sacrificed as part of Eid al-Adha, also known as the Sacrifice Feast, to be celebrated Dec 20.
The festival commemorates prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah. Traditionally, a large portion of the meat is given to the poor.