MANILA: The Philippine government on Thursday confirmed the death of two seafarers in a recent missile strike by Houthi militants on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, off southern Yemen.

In a statement, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said two other Filipino sailors were also severely injured, Xinhua news agency reported.

The cargo ship True Confidence on Wednesday was hit by several anti-ship ballistic missiles nearly 50 nautical miles southwest of Aden port.

Some reports said the vessel had 20 crew members, comprising 15 Filipino nationals.

The DMW did not give details on the number of Filipinos aboard, but saying it has coordinated with the principal shipowner and manning agency "on the repatriation of the remaining Filipino crew members".

The authorities have taken the surviving Filipinos to a safe port, it added.

The Philippines is among the biggest suppliers of maritime labour in the world, providing almost one-fifth of the worldwide 1.2 million seafarers, according to International Labor Organisation.

Last November, 17 Filipino seafarers were taken hostage after an Israeli cargo ship were hijacked by Yemen's Houthi militants in the Red Sea, and have yet been released.