As many as 32 survivors have been rescued and are receiving treatment at a hospital in the city of Galle, said officials
Sri Lanka’s navy has retrieved 87 bodies of sailors from an Iranian warship that was sunk on Wednesday by a US submarine off the country’s southern coast, according to an AFP report, citing police and defence officials.
“We have recovered 87 bodies, and the search continues for those who remain missing,” AFP quoted a navy official as saying.
Authorities reported that 61 sailors are still unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, 32 survivors have been rescued and are receiving treatment at a hospital in the city of Galle, officials added.
Earlier today, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iranian warship was torpedoed in international waters.
The vessel, identified as the frigate IRIS Dena, was returning to Iran from an eastern Indian port after taking part in the Milan multilateral naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to 25.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Reuters quoted Hegseth as saying at the Pentagon.
“Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death,” he added.
With inputs from agencies
End of Article
