I survived a missile strike in the Strait of Hormuz, but my friend has not been found

"I felt the whole ship shake. I thought there'd been some fault with the engine. But as soon as I stepped outside of my room, there was another explosion." Sunil Puniya, 26, was on his first job at sea when a missile struck the oil tanker Skylight in the early hours of 1 March. The US-sanctioned vessel had travelled from Dubai and was nearing the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Skylight was the first commercial vessel to be struck after the US-Israel war with Iran erupted in the region. At the time of the attack, Sunil was asleep in his cabin on the third floor. He woke to find the ship engulfed in chaos. The missile had struck the engine room, sparking a fire that rapidly spread through the vessel. "There was a complete blackout, and smoke had spread everywhere," he said. "Everyone was having trouble breathing." "There were some sailors from South India who were crying and making panicked calls home. I told them to stop calling and helped bring them up on to the deck." But by the time they reached the deck the fire was already spreading. "There was oil everywhere," Sunil said. "The flames were coming towards us so we jumped into the sea." The Oman Na

May 23, 2026 → May 23, 2026