Dhaka, May 9 -- An Indian sailor has been killed and four others injured after a dhow caught fire and sank off the Strait of Hormuz, reports Gulf News citing the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

Eighteen Indian crew members were aboard in the wooden vessel when the fire broke out on Saturday.

After the vessel capsized following the blaze, 17 crew members were rescued by a passing ship.

It comes amid heightened instability in West Asia and growing risks to commercial shipping routes around the strait which was closed by Iran following attacks by Israel and the US.

Tehran has laid out a set of new rules for vessels seeking to transit the strait, a key global energy corridor.

"In the unfortunate fire incident on board an Indian wooden dhow at...