About 80 bodies have been recovered so far from the Iranian naval ship IRIS Dena, which sank off the southern coast of Sri Lanka following an attack by a United States military submarine, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arun Hemachandra said.
Speaking on the incident, the Deputy Minister said search and recovery operations are continuing in the waters off Galle, where the Iranian warship went down in the Indian Ocean.
The frigate was carrying around 180 crew members at the time of the incident. Authorities say more than 100 sailors are feared dead, while several others remain missing.
Thirty-two Iranian sailors rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy were brought ashore in Galle and admitted to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital for treatment.
The Iranian warship IRIS Dena had been returning from India after participating in the 2026 International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam when it was reportedly torpedoed in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Navy vessels were deployed to assist with rescue and recovery operations, as search efforts continue for the remaining missing sailors. (Newswire)
