80 dead, 150 missing as Iranian warship sinks off Sri Lanka coast amid conflict
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "80 dead, 150 missing as Iranian warship sinks off Sri Lanka coast amid conflict")
80 dead, 150 missing as Iranian warship sinks off Sri Lanka coast amid conflict Photograph: (Credit: AFP)
At least 80 dead and 150 missing after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was sunk by a U.S. submarine torpedo off the coast of Sri Lanka. The attack marks a major expansion of the U.S.-Iran conflict.
On Wednesday (March 4), 80 declared dead and nearly 150 are missing after an Iranian warship sank off Sri Lanka coast. The crew members reported it as an explosion, officials said. As of now, 32 sailors from the frigate IRIS Dena have been rescued by the Sri Lankan navy. Though hopes for the remaining 148 sailors are fading, the island nation's foreign minister and defence officials said.
The source was unclear of the reported explosion involving the frigate, which was travelling after reportedly attending a military exercise in India's eastern port of Viskhapatnam. This sinking comes as war has broken out in the Mideast, after Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran.
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Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that 32 rescued Iranians were rushed to the main hospital in the island's south. At the same time, two navy craft and a plane were deployed to search for survivors. The frigate issued a distress call at dawn on Wednesday, and within less than an hour, a rescue vessel reached the area about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the southern port of Galle, the minister said.
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The frigate had completely sunk and only an oil patch remained when the navy rescue boats approached. "We are keeping up a search, but we don't know yet what happened to the rest of the crew," a defence official told AFP, dimming prospects for finding any more survivors. The director at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle, S. D. Ranga, said he was told there may be fatalities, but only 32 injured sailors had been brought in.
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(With agency inputs)
