Sri Lanka on Friday night repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who died when their frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk nine days ago by a US submarine, officials said.
The sailors were killed when the vessel was torpedoed on March 4 off the coast of Sri Lanka, in an incident that extended the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean.
An Airbus A340 chartered by Iran departed from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport carrying the remains of the sailors. Airport officials said the flight was delayed as 84 sealed coffins had to be loaded before departure. The destination of the aircraft was not disclosed.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 32 sailors from the frigate who survived the attack will remain in Sri Lanka for the time being. Of them, 22 have already been discharged from hospital and are currently being accommodated at an air force base in the southern part of the island.
A second Iranian warship, IRIS Bushehr, entered Sri Lankan waters a day after the sinking of the Dena. Sri Lanka has provided safe harbour for the ship and its crew of 219 sailors. Officials said discussions on repatriating the Bushehr crew and the rescued sailors have not yet begun, but assured they would be treated in accordance with the country’s international obligations.
Authorities said Sri Lanka is currently hosting a total of 251 Iranian sailors. Crewmembers from the Bushehr are being accommodated at a navy camp north of Colombo, while the vessel has been taken over by the Sri Lanka Navy, which is attempting to repair one of its reportedly malfunctioning engines.
Meanwhile, a third Iranian vessel, IRIS Lavan, sailed past Sri Lanka and entered safe harbour at Port of Kochi on the same day the Dena was sunk. Its 183 crewmembers are currently in Indian custody.
Both Sri Lanka and India have stated that shelter was provided to the Iranian sailors on humanitarian grounds amid concerns that they could be targeted in further US attacks. The ships had been participating in a naval exercise organised by India near Visakhapatnam when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
The remains of the sailors recovered from the Indian Ocean were taken to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, where post-mortem examinations were conducted. A magistrate later ordered that the bodies be handed over to the Iranian embassy in Colombo for repatriation to their families.
