COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 people from an Iranian naval ship that sank outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, officials said on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that Sri Lanka’s navy received information that the ship IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking. The island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission, he said.
Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath
said by the time navy ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship and “there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water.”
Sampath said there were several dead bodies in the sea but declined to give an exact number. He said 32 people have been rescued and they have been admitted to a hospital.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank the ship in international waters, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday.
Dr. Anil Jasinghe, a top health ministry official, said one of those rescued is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment and others are being treated for minor injuries.
Sampath said search and rescue operations are continuing in the area. He gave no details about the cause of injuries or the damage to the ship.
The IRIS Dena — one of Iran’s newest warships — is a Moudge-class frigate that patrols in deep water for the Iranian navy. It is armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. It also carries one helicopter.
The frigate was the centerpiece of a two-ship international tour in 2023 that included port calls in countries including South Africa and Brazil. It was accompanied by the support ship IRIS Makran, a converted oil tanker.
The U.S. Treasury Department included both ships on a sanctions designation in February 2023 along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied the weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.
At least 17 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk during the ongoing war, said U.S. Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the American military’s Central Command.
“We are also sinking the Iranian navy — the entire navy,” he said in a video message.
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Associated Press journalists Adam Schreck in Bangkok and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.
