Several bodies suspected to be of the personnel of the Iranian vessel were found, Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said.
“Though it was beyond our waters, it is within our search and rescue region. We are the first responders as per the international obligations,” he said.
“We found people floating in the water and rescued them. Later on, we found upon inquiring that they belonged to the Iranian ship. We swiftly transferred them to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment,” he added.
Search and rescue operations are still underway in the area, he said.
“We suspect the dead bodies also belong to the same ship as we found them in the demarcated area,” he said.
The Iranian warship that sank off Sri Lanka’s southern coast had reportedly been attacked while it was outside Sri Lankan waters, according to foreign media reports.
However, Sampath said that this cannot be determined at the moment, as search and rescue operations are the current priority.
He said that when the Navy initially responded to the location of the distress call, a vessel could not be found, and only traces of oil spills were visible.
“We will do technical investigations following the rescue and operations. As the Sri Lanka Navy, we completely reject these reports,” he said, adding that the incident is still being treated as an accident. (Newswire)
At least 101 people are missing and 78 others have been wounded following a suspected submarine attack on an Iranian vessel off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, Reuters reported citing sources in Sri Lanka’s Navy and Defence Ministry.
Sri Lanka Navy vessels were deployed after receiving a distress call from the Iranian Navy vessel ‘IRIS Dena’, which had reported difficulties about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Galle.
Authorities earlier confirmed that several injured Iranian naval personnel were rescued and brought ashore, with 32 admitted to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital for treatment.
Hospital officials said one of the rescued personnel is in critical condition while several others have sustained moderate and minor injuries.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy vessels remain engaged in rescue operations as efforts continue to locate and assist those still at sea.
However, Sri Lankan authorities have not yet issued an official statement confirming reports of a submarine attack or the number of missing. Reuters said the information was based on sources in Sri Lanka’s Navy and Defence Ministry. (Newswire)