Noida: The night sky over Bandar Abbas lit up without a warning — streaks of fire cutting through the darkness, followed by thunderous explosions that shook walls and nerves alike. Inside a near-empty hotel, eight Indian sailors stood frozen, watching missiles slam into an Iranian naval base barely 800 metres away.Just days earlier, they had been freed after months in captivity in their vessel. Now, they were trapped again — this time in the middle of a war.Their journey home had only just begun.It was on Dec 8 that their ordeal began, when MT Valiant Roar, carrying 18 crew members — 16 Indians, one Sri Lankan and one Bangladeshi — was intercepted in international waters while heading to Khor Fakkan in the UAE. Armed Iranian personnel boarded the vessel after heavy firing, detaining the crew on suspicion of smuggling oil despite valid documentation.Among those on board were captain Vijay Kumar (45) from Meerut, and third engineer Ketan Mehta (27), whose parents live in Ghaziabad.“Our ship was moving at barely two to three knots when the Iranian Navy began firing at us. They fired at least 500 rounds before boarding the vessel,” Kumar, now back with his family, said.Minutes earlier, he had sent a voice note to his cousin, also a merchant navy officer, saying they were being chased and could be captured by the Iranian Navy soon.Some of the sailors were moved to a prison in Bandar Abbas, while others were kept confined aboard the ship. Communication was scarce, and movements restricted. “We were treated like hostages without any explanation whatsoever. Even basic movement needed permission,” Kumar told TOI.After weeks of diplomatic intervention, the crew began to be released in phases through Feb. By Feb 27, all 18 had officially been freed. They were preparing to leave the country the next day.Then, the war broke out.The sailors — some moved to a hotel by Indian embassy officials, others still stuck on the vessel — suddenly found themselves in a live conflict zone. The ship, docked beside Iranian naval assets, became a potential target.“It was a complete war zone. Even after the release order, we couldn’t leave the vessel. There was no way to reach us,” Kumar recalled.On March 3, help arrived in an unexpected form. An Iranian man lent a boat, allowing officials to evacuate those stranded on Valiant Roar. The group reunited at the same hotel in Bandar Abbas where the other sailors had been kept. But safety remained elusive.Within a day, the war had come to their doorstep.“Just a day after we had checked in, we saw a missile strike the naval base at Bandar Abbas. Everything turned to ashes in front of us. The visuals were traumatising.” Mehta said.Each day brought more strikes. The walls shook. The men would run down from the sixth floor to the lobby, fearing the next missile might hit the hotel. “Apart from the staff, there was nobody else there. There were attacks every day. Whenever it started, we would run downstairs. Some would lie flat, others would break down. We didn’t know if the next one would hit us,” Mehta said.Sleep was rare. “There were no sirens, no clear warnings, only sudden explosions. The locals seemed used to it. But for us, every moment felt uncertain,” Kumar recalled.Cut off and with limited phone access, the sailors rationed communication with their families. “We had just one phone with us, that too with minimal balance. So, one of us would make a call to our family, and ask them to pass on the message to others that we were still in the hotel and safe,” Kumar said.The sailors followed fragmented news on Iranian TV channels, trying to make sense of the conflict in local language. Days stretched on, but there was no clear exit.Kumar said the embassy initially asked them to wait about 10 days in the hope the fighting would ease. It did not.By March 20, the embassy had come out with an advice. With no safe house available and no certainty that the hotel would remain untouched, the sailors decided to leave by road.“The decision was stark — stay in a vulnerable hotel or risk crossing a country at war. It was do or die. All of us chose to move,” Kumar said.A van was arranged, though at a steep cost of $2,400 (Rs 2.3 lakh). With no room for negotiation, families back home transferred money through embassy channels to pay the drivers.The journey that followed was gruelling.Over nearly 2,000km, the van cut through silent highways and deserted towns. “There were no people, no traffic, just emptiness all around us. And then suddenly, a series of explosions,” Mehta said.From the road, the sailors could see missile strikes hitting buildings at a distance. At times, the shockwaves rattled their vehicle. “Our van would shake every time there was an explosion. But we kept moving,” Mehta said.Unfazed, the drivers pressed on. “We asked them not to stop under any circumstances. They told us those who survive are lucky,” Kumar said.”About 60km from the border, near Tabriz, the sailors witnessed another strike. “We saw a barrage of missiles hit an entire city. We felt the impact even from the highway,” Kumar said.They reached the Iran-Armenia border by March 24, but crossing over was not immediate. Clearance took nearly three days, during which they stayed in Jalfa along with others fleeing the war-ravaged country.“There were many like us — Indians and other nationals trying to get out,” Mehta said.Finally, on March 27, they crossed into Armenia and reached the capital, Yerevan. A day later, they flew to Dubai, and on March 29, landed in Mumbai.Back home, relief has begun to replace concern. Yet, the memories linger.“It’s too early to think about going back. For now, we just want to be with our families,” Mehta told TOI.For Kumar, one question still remains unanswered. “We still don’t know why we were captured. But we know one thing — we were lucky to survive.”
