84 Bodies Recovered From Sunken 'IRIS DENA'

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Sri Lanka Navy says the bodies of 84 personnel believed to have been on board the Iranian warship that met with an accident in the international waters, have been recovered.

Navy Spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath stated that the bodies were transported to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital.

The vessel was involved in the incident yesterday in international waters close to Sri Lanka’s Search and Rescue Region. 

In accordance with the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue of 1979, Sri Lanka is internationally obliged to assist in such emergencies and holds the responsibility for search and rescue operations in the sea area where the incident occurred.

The Sri Lanka Navy, after receiving the distress message at around 5.08 a.m. yesterday that the vessel was sinking, promptly implemented search and rescue operations together with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Air Force.

According to Reuters, there were approximately 180 personnel on board the vessel.

Sri Lanka's Navy managed to rescue 32 individuals from the vessel identified as “IRIS Dena.”

Meanwhile, addressing a Pentagon briefing last evening, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed that it was a US submarine that sank the Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean using a torpedo.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that the United States had sunk what he described as “an Iranian warship that believed it was safe in international waters” in the Indian Ocean.

The BBC quoted the U.S. War Secretary as saying that the vessel was sunk following a torpedo attack launched from a US submarine.