Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies from Iranian warship sunk off its coast by a U.S. submarine
GALLE, Sri Lanka — A torpedo fired by a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan navy said on Wednesday that 87 bodies were recovered and 32 people were rescued.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the Iranian ship that sank in the Indian Ocean was the “prize ship” of the Islamic Republic. This was one of the few examples since World War II in which a submarine sank a ship.
The sinking of IRIS Dena demonstrates the US-Israeli military operation against the Iranian military extending beyond its borders. President Trump said one of the main goals of the war was to destroy Iran’s navy.
“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said at a news briefing at the Pentagon. “Instead it was sunk by a torpedo.”
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that her navy had received information that the IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in danger and had sunk. He said the island nation sent ships and planes for the rescue mission.
Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said when navy ships reached the area there was no sign that the ship was in distress and “only some oil pellets and life rafts. We found people floating on the water.”
He said the 32 people rescued were taken to a hospital in the town of Galle on Sri Lanka’s southern coast. He said that the bodies found were also brought ashore.
The bodies of the Iranian sailors were being trucked to the National Hospital in Galle and stored in a makeshift morgue. The hospital was guarded by Sri Lankan police and naval personnel as workers moved the bodies out of sight.
One of the senior officials of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that one of the rescued people was in critical condition, seven people received emergency treatment, while the others were treated for minor injuries.
IRIS Dena, one of Iran’s newest warships, was patrolling deep waters and was armed with artillery, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. He was carrying a helicopter.
The ship was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in February 2023, along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.
US Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads the US military’s Central Command, said at least 17 Iranian naval ships were sunk during the ongoing war.
Francis and Mallawarachi write for the Associated Press. AP journalists Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Jon Gambrell in Duba, and Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.
