Sri Lanka will send bodies of 84 Iranian sailors to Iran, 32 rescued sailors will not return for now

Colombo. Sri Lanka has announced to send back the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in the US attack. All these sailors were killed in the US torpedo attack on the Iranian warship Iris Dena on March 4. The 32 Iranian sailors rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy during the relief operation after the attack will remain in Sri Lanka for now. Preparations have been completed to send the dead bodies by a chartered plane sent by Iran.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it was repatriating to Iran the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors who died in an attack nine days ago, according to Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror. The attack occurred when the Iranian warship Iris Dena was traveling in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka and was sunk when it was torpedoed by a US submarine.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Thushara Rodrigo said the bodies would be transported on a chartered cargo plane sent by Iran. All the domestic formalities related to this process have been completed.

Immediately after the attack, the Sri Lankan Navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors, who are currently kept in Sri Lanka. The injured sailors were admitted to hospital, 22 of whom have now been discharged. They are housed at an air force base located in the southern part of the island.

The incident took place on March 4, when the Iranian frigate Iris Dena was attacked with torpedoes near the coast of Sri Lanka. The incident was widely condemned internationally as it raised fears of the ongoing conflict in West Asia spreading to the Indian Ocean region.

A day after the attack, another Iranian warship, Iris Bushehr, was allowed to enter Sri Lankan waters. Sri Lanka is providing safe haven to the ship and its 219 crew members. At present, the ship has been taken under the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy and efforts are being made to repair its damaged engines.

At the same time, a third Iranian warship proceeded from Sri Lanka and reached Kochi port in India, where its 183 crew members are under Indian protection. Both Sri Lanka and India have said they have granted shelter to the Iranian sailors on humanitarian grounds, as their safety was at risk due to ongoing attacks in the region.

According to officials, the post-mortem of the bodies pulled from the sea was conducted at the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka. Later, on the orders of a local court, the bodies were handed over to the Iranian Embassy in Colombo so that they could be returned to their families. The dead bodies have been packed in sealed boxes after applying special chemicals to keep them safe.

The bodies will be sent to Iran via chartered flight from Mattala International Airport in the south of Sri Lanka. Additional security has been deployed at the airport due to security reasons.