Vangelis Staridas is the Greek armed guard of the Eternity C ship, found unharmed after the Houthi attack in the Red Sea.
Vangelis Starida, who has a daughter, was rescued by Diaplous and AMBREY, of which the rescued man’s brother is a member, after he was found in the sea early Thursday morning, almost 24 hours after the Houthi attack on the ship.
“Vangelis is fine, and that’s what counts. For us, he was and will be our lion. He fought for two days in the sea and came out unharmed. All we want is for him to go back to Greece,” his brother Nikos tells Espresso. “We begged God for a miracle and he listened to us,” he adds.
According to the publication, Vangelis Staridas also has a younger sister, Anastasia, whom he had raised as she was just 4 years old when their father unexpectedly passed away. At the time, Staridas had vowed to raise her and provide her with everything.
Speaking to SKY on Thursday night, his brother had described that “I lost half of my life until I found out that he had been rescued and that they found him in the water where he had been for at least 48 hours. I was told he was completely dehydrated, hypothermic but the last update was that he had recovered.”
According to protothema.gr, special guards eventually recovered a total of four people from the crew. However, there are missing persons. Meanwhile, the Houthi are holding six crew members hostage.
Watch video of the attack on the ship:
مشاهد استهداف وإغراق سفينة (ETERNITY C) بعدد من الصواريخ الباليستية والمجنحة أثناء قيامها بانتهاك قرار حظر القوات المسلحة اليمنية واتجاهها إلى ميناء أم الرشراش في فلسطين المحتلة. pic.twitter.com/dbs404YF6u
– أمين حيان Ameen Hayyan (@AminHian) July 9, 2025</blockquote
As protothema.gr wrote, the Greek guard was the last to leave the ship, along with the Filipino captain, when the Eternity C had already begun to sink. This evidence came from the testimonies of the first six crew members who were rescued and recovered.
The Filipino man trying to climb the wind tunnel, however, lost consciousness and eventually drowned.
The Houthi Navy, according to a statement from their military spokesperson, responded to rescue and provide medical attention to some of the sailors, transporting them to a safe location. It has not yet been confirmed who is being held.
The attack occurred Monday, about 50 nautical miles from the Hodeidah port of Yemen, when the Eternity C came under fire and floating drones, as well as an attack by gunmen on speedboats.
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