A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a ship in the Gulf of Aden has caused “fatalities”, two US officials have told Associated Press. 

Another shipping source told Reuters news agency that three sailors were missing and four others were badly burned.

The Barbados-flagged True Confidence is no longer under the command of the crew and has been abandoned, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said separately.

The extent of the damage remains unclear, but it appears to be serious. 

True Confidence was hit by a missile about 50 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden. 

The ship’s owner and operator said the bulk carrier is drifting with a fire continuing onboard. 

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have not yet claimed the attack.