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Photographs: The crew of IRIS Dena taking part in an Indian naval exercise last month.
Sri Lanka’s navy has recovered several bodies believed to belong to crew members of the Iranian warship that sank off the island’s southern coast, as search and rescue operations continue in waters near Galle.
The discovery as authorities launched a large-scale rescue effort following a distress call from the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena, which reportedly went down after being struck while sailing near Sri Lanka. Earlier reports indicated that at least 101 personnel were missing and dozens injured after the incident.
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Sri Lanka Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath confirmed that bodies had been located during ongoing operations in the search zone.
“Though it was beyond our waters, it is within our search and rescue region. We are the first responders as per the international obligations,” he said.
Naval personnel responding to the distress call encountered survivors drifting in the sea before identifying them as members of the Iranian vessel.
“We found people floating in the water and rescued them. Later on, we found upon inquiring that they belonged to the Iranian ship. We swiftly transferred them to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment,” he added.
Earlier reports confirmed that dozens of Iranian sailors were rescued and taken to hospital in Galle, with some suffering serious injuries. Hospital officials have said that at least one survivor remains in critical condition while others sustained moderate or minor injuries.
Sampath also confirmed that bodies had been located in the same area where the rescue operations were taking place.
“We suspect the dead bodies also belong to the same ship as we found them in the demarcated area,” he said.
Media reports have suggested that the Iranian warship may have been attacked while sailing outside Sri Lankan territorial waters. However, the Sri Lanka Navy has said it cannot confirm these claims while rescue operations remain underway.
According to Sampath, when naval vessels first reached the location of the distress call, the ship itself could not be located.
He said the responders instead encountered signs that a maritime disaster had occurred.
He said that when the Navy initially responded to the location of the distress call, a vessel could not be found, and only traces of oil spills were visible.
Authorities say the focus remains on rescuing survivors and recovering those still missing before determining what caused the vessel to sink.
“We will do technical investigations following the rescue and operations. As the Sri Lanka Navy, we completely reject these reports,” he said, adding that the incident is still being treated as an accident.
The IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate commissioned in 2021, is among the Iranian navy’s more modern warships. The vessel had recently participated in the MILAN 2026 multinational naval exercise and fleet review in Visakhapatnam, India, before the incident occurred.
Search operations by Sri Lanka’s navy and air force are continuing across the designated rescue area as authorities attempt to locate the more than one hundred personnel still unaccounted for.