Sri Lanka Repatriates Remains of 84 Iranian Sailors Killed by US Submarine

Sri Lankan authorities have repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a torpedo attack by a United States submarine on their frigate, IRIS Dena, off the island's southern coast earlier this month. The handover occurred on Friday, when the bodies were flown to Iran aboard a chartered Turkish airliner from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Hambantota, following a court order and autopsies at a local hospital.

The incident took place on March 4 in international waters about 20 nautical miles west of Galle, as the IRIS Dena was returning to Iran after participating in a multinational naval fleet review and exercise in Visakhapatnam, India. Officials confirmed that the vessel was struck by torpedoes from a U.S. submarine, resulting in the deaths of all 84 crew members aboard. Sri Lanka's navy responded swiftly, rescuing 32 survivors from the wreckage and bringing them ashore for medical treatment at Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle. Of those, 22 have been discharged and are now housed at a nearby air force base in Koggala, while the remaining 10 continue to receive care. The bodies, recovered from the sea, were stored in makeshift refrigeration due to...