2 months ago
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Sri Lanka rescued 30 sailors aboard the Iranian frigate Iris Dena, which was sinking connected Wednesday (March 4, 2026) conscionable extracurricular the island's territorial waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.
No accusation was instantly disposable connected the origin of the vessel's problems, but Herath told parliament that the injured sailors were taken to a infirmary successful the island's south.
The 180-crew frigate had issued a distress telephone astatine dawn.
Herath said 2 Sri Lankan navy vessels and an craft were deployed for the rescue operation, but did not accidental what caused the Iranian warship to sink.
An absorption legislator asked successful parliament whether the vas had been bombed arsenic portion of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran, but determination was nary contiguous effect from the government.
Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said their cognition was successful enactment with Sri Lanka's maritime obligations.
"We responded to the distress telephone nether our planetary obligations, arsenic this is wrong our Search and Rescue Area successful the Indian Ocean," Sampath told AFP.
Local officials said the main infirmary successful Galle, 115 kilometres (70 miles) southbound of the capital, had been placed connected alert to person the evacuated sailors.
