Iran seeks return of all IRIS Dena dead; Sri Lanka rushes to arrange cold storage facilities
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Iran seeks return of all IRIS Dena dead; Sri Lanka rushes to arrange cold storage facilities")
Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena sank in the Indian Ocean after being struck by a torpedo from an American submarine Photograph: (X)
Sri Lanka’s deputy health minister, Hansaka Wijemuni, said Sri Lanka follows a standard procedure of conducting postmortem examinations and consulting the respective countries for instructions on handling the bodies. The Iranian ship had 180 people on board at the time, said reports.
Iran has asked Sri Lanka to arrange the repatriation of the bodies of its crew who died after an Iranian naval vessel sank in the Indian Ocean following a torpedo attack by an American submarine. The bodies of Iranians have been moved to the Karapitiya National Hospital in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s Deputy Health Minister Hansaka Wijemuni said that the Iranian government has informed Sri Lanka that the bodies need to be repatriated to Iran.
The remains will be kept in hospital cold rooms until arrangements are completed.
Hansaka Wijemuni said Sri Lanka follows a standard procedure of conducting post-mortem examinations and consulting the respective countries for instructions on handling the bodies.
Iran had notified Sri Lanka that it wishes to take back the bodies, but the process cannot be completed immediately due to the ongoing military situation, and hence Sri Lanka has to store the remains temporarily, the deputy minister said.
Sri Lanka lacks sufficient long-term cold storage capacity for such a large number of bodies, and steps have been taken since last evening to purchase the required refrigeration units, said Wijemuni, adding that work is underway to place the bodies in appropriate cold storage facilities.
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The Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena sank at about 5:08 am on Wednesday in international waters close to Sri Lanka following a torpedo attack.
The ship had 180 people on board at the time, said reports.
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Under international maritime agreements, Sri Lanka carried responsibility for the rescue and search operations in the sea region where the incident occurred.
The operation rescued 32 survivors, who are now receiving treatment at the Karapitiya National Hospital.
Security at the Karapitiya National Hospital has been tightened as the situation continues to unfold.
Another Iranian ship near Sri Lanka requests an ‘urgent port call’
Meanwhile, another Iranian ship near Sri Lanka has requested for an “urgent port call”, said Sri Lankan MP Namal Rajapaksa on Thursday. This urgent request from the Iranian naval vessel comes a day after Iris Dena was sunk after being torpedoed by a US submarine.
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“It has been brought to our notice that another Iranian vessel is in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone, just outside our territorial waters, and has sought the government’s permission to make an urgent port call. However, it is yet awaiting the government’s clearance,” the MP wrote on social media platform X.
The Sri Lankan MP’s statement comes after media minister Nalinda Jayatissa said a second Iranian warship was just outside Sri Lankan waters but gave no further details.
