Sri Lanka repatriates remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed in US submarine strike amid West Asia war
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Sri Lanka repatriates remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed in US submarine strike amid West Asia war")
Iran’s IRIS Bushehr after a US submarine attack off Colombo’s coast on March 5. Photograph: (AFP)
Officials confirmed that the embalmed remains, placed in sealed coffins, will be flown out of Sri Lanka from Mattala International Airport in the country’s south. By Friday afternoon, the first batch of 46 bodies had already arrived at the airport.
Sri Lanka is repatriating the remains of 84 Iranian sailors on Friday, who died when their warship was sunk nine days ago by a US submarine, the Foreign Ministry confirmed. Iranian sailors were killed after the warship Iris Dena was torpedoed by a US submarine on March 4, just off the coast of Sri Lanka, amid the Middle East war.
"All domestic procedures have been completed, and the Iranians are bringing a chartered aircraft for the repatriation," spokesman Thushara Rodrigo told AFP. "The 32 sailors who were rescued by our navy will remain in Sri Lanka."
Remains will be flown out of Sri Lanka
Officials said the embalmed remains, placed in sealed coffins, will be flown out of Sri Lanka from Mattala International Airport in the country’s south. By Friday afternoon, the first batch of 46 bodies had already arrived at the airport and was waiting to be transported on an Iranian chartered cargo aircraft, an official told AFP.
The bodies, recovered from the Indian Ocean, were taken to Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, about 115 kilometres (72 miles) south of the capital, where post-mortem examinations were conducted. A local magistrate later ordered that the remains be handed over to the Iranian embassy in Colombo so they could be repatriated to their families.
Meanwhile, there were no immediate reactions from the Iranian embassy.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Also read: USS Abraham Lincoln 'fleeing' after missile strike, Iran claims. US tells a different story
