Rabat – Sri Lanka’s navy has recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 crew members aboard a Iranian warship that sank off of Sri Lanka’s coast on Wednesday, in a large-scale search and rescue operation.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine was responsible for the sinking, saying in a Pentagon briefing that the torpedo strike was the “first such attack on an enemy since World War II”.
The strike comes as tensions between the US and Iran have hit a boiling point, since the US-Israeli strike last Saturday has deteriorated into a regional war.
The vessel, identified as the IRIS Dena, went down in the Indian Ocean after crew members reported an explosion on board, officials said. Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that there were 180 crew members onboard, and search and rescue operations continue to recover the missing.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vikitha Herath told parliament that the Iranian warship had sunk off the country’s coast. The navy said it received a distress call from the vessel, triggering an immediate joint search and rescue operation with the Sri Lankan Air Force.
The spokesman confirmed that the 32 injured sailors had been rescued and were receiving treatment at a state-run hospital in the southern port city of Galle. He added that Sri Lankan forces had not observed any other ship or aircraft in the area at the time of the incident.
Sri Lankan authorities said their immediate focus remains on saving lives.
“We are hopeful we can rescue more people and will continue operations until we are sure,” the navy spokesman said.