Activists who were planning to sail a ship to Gaza say it was struck by drones in international waters off the coast of Malta - appearing to accuse Israel of being behind the attack.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said its ship The Conscience was targeted at 00:23 local time on Friday and issued an SOS signal right after the attack.
The BBC was sent a recording of the distress call from the flotilla ship, recorded by a crew member on a nearby oil tanker. The captain of the flotilla ship can clearly be heard reporting drone strikes and a fire onboard.
The Maltese government said everyone aboard the ship was "confirmed safe" and that a fire onboard the ship was "brought under control overnight".
The NGO called for Israeli ambassadors to be summoned to answer for "violation of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel".
The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the attack.
Organisers told the BBC that the group had been "operating in total secrecy with a complete media blackout" to prevent "sabotage" as they prepared to sail towards Gaza - where about two million Palestinians have been under a complete blockade by the Israeli military for two months.
Volunteer Surya McEwen said he and others had lost contact with the ship after the incident, which he said caused a fire on board and damaged the hull. They had since been told there were no major injuries.
"It's a full-on situation for them but they're recovering," he told the BBC, adding that the incident had been an "unprovoked attack on a civilian vessel in international waters, trying to do a humanitarian mission".
Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those who had planned to board the ship once it departed for Gaza on Friday.
Speaking to journalists in Valetta, she said: "I was part of the group who was supposed to board that boat today to continue the voyage towards Gaza, which is one of many attempts to open up a humanitarian corridor and to do our part to keep trying to break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza."
Thunberg added that as far as she's aware, the ship is still at the location of the attack because moving it would let too much water in.
"What is certain is that we human rights activists will continue to do everything in our power to do our part, to demand a free Palestine and demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor," she said.
The Maltese government said that 12 crew and four activists were on board the boat, while the NGO said 30 activists had been on board.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition uploaded a video showing a fire on the ship. It said the attack appeared to have targeted the generator, which left the ship without power and at risk of sinking.
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