Over 100 sailors missing after Iranian warship 'attacked by foreign submarine' off Sri Lanka

At least 101 sailors are missing after an Iranian warship was “attacked by a foreign submarine” near the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka, a local outlet reported, citing defence sources.

78 other sailors were wounded in the incident, while the identity of the sailors remains unknown, Daily Mirror reported on Wednesday.

Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said several dead bodies suspected to be from the submerged vessel were found.

“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 said, according to News Wire outlet.

He added: “We suspect the dead bodies also belong to the same ship as we found them in the demarcated area.”

The warship sank off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, and the nation’s navy and air force are engaged in a joint rescue operation to rescue the crew of the IRIS Dena off the coast of the city of Galle.

Earlier, on Wednesday, authorities said the operation was focused on evacuating crew members after the vessel issued a distress call saying it had been hit.

The IRIS Dena is a Moudge-class frigate serving in the Iranian Navy’s Southern Fleet.

The injured are being treated at Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, local authorities said.

Incident ‘is still being treated as an accident’

Sampath said that when the Navy responded to the distress call, “a vessel could not be found, and only traces of oil spills were visible.”

“We will conduct technical investigations following the search and rescue operations. As the Sri Lanka Navy, we completely reject these reports,” he said, responding to claims that the vessel was attacked by a foreign submarine.

He added that the incident “is still being treated as an accident” and occurred “beyond our waters.”

Before the incident, the Iranian warship had recently taken part in the Milan 2026 multinational naval exercise and fleet review held in Visakhapatnam, India.

The incident comes as the US and Israel continue air strikes on Iran that began last Saturday and have killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and 786 others, including scores of schoolgirls.

Tehran has responded with drone and missile attacks targeting US-linked sites in Gulf countries, causing multiple fatalities. Six US service members have been killed, and many others injured.

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Source: TRT