MANILA — Twelve Filipino crew members of the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Safesea Vishnu were rescued after a suspected Iranian “suicide boat” attack near Basra, Iraq, on March 11, the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad said.

The incident killed one Indian national, while the 12 Filipinos are now safe in the Basra Governorate in southern Iraq. The embassy said Iraqi authorities rescued the seafarers in the early hours of March 12 and provided immediate medical care ashore.

“Working closely with the Iraqi authorities and the shipping company, the Philippine Embassy is in the process of providing them with the documentary requirements necessary for their repatriation,” the embassy said.

The embassy added that medical and welfare assistance were extended to the rescued Filipinos.

The attack comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with Tehran warning it could “set fire” to any ship attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.