Death toll mounts after US torpedo sinks Iranian ship off Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities have recovered around 80 bodies from the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena, which sank off the southern coast of Sri Lanka after being struck by a United States torpedo.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arun Hemachandra confirmed that search and recovery operations are continuing in the waters off Galle, where the frigate went down in the Indian Ocean.

About 180 crew members were believed to have been on board the vessel at the time of the incident. Authorities now fear that more than 100 sailors may have died, with several others still missing as rescue teams continue to comb the surrounding waters.

The Sri Lanka Navy launched an operation after receiving a distress call from the Iranian vessel in the early hours of Wednesday. Naval ships and aircraft were dispatched to the location to assist with rescue and recovery efforts.

Thirty-two Iranian sailors rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy were brought ashore in Galle and admitted to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Earlier, Sri Lankan naval personnel responding to the distress call reported finding survivors floating in the sea and transporting them to hospital. Bodies believed to belong to crew members were later discovered within the designated search area.

The IRIS Dena, a Moudge class frigate commissioned in 2021, was considered one of the Iranian navy’s more modern combat vessels and formed part of its Southern Fleet.

The ship had recently taken part in the 2026 International Fleet Review held in Visakhapatnam, India, and was reportedly returning from the event when it was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka.

^{Photograph: The crew of IRIS Dena taking part in an Indian naval exercise last month.}

United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday that an American submarine had sunk the Iranian warship. In remarks addressing the strike, he said the attack marked the first time an enemy vessel had been destroyed by a US torpedo since the Second World War.

The sinking triggered a large-scale maritime search operation led by the Sri Lanka Navy, with vessels continuing to patrol the waters off the southern coast as authorities attempt to locate those still missing.

Rescue and recovery efforts remain ongoing as officials work to determine the final number of casualties from the incident.