22 Iranian sailors of IRIS Dena discharged from Sri Lankan hospital

Colombo: At least 22 Iranian sailors of IRIS Dena, the Iranian ship that was torpedoed by the US, have been discharged, hospital authorities said on Sunday.

"They were dispatched in ambulances to the Sri Lanka Air Force facility at Koggala outside Galle under heavy security," officials said. Another 10 sailors remain under treatment at the National Hospital Galle in Karapitiya.

They were admitted on Wednesday after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena sank after being torpedoed by a US submarine off Galle on the island's southern coast.


Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors killed in the attack. The ship was returning home from Visakhapatnam in India after a naval fleet review exercise.

Sri Lanka on Saturday said steps were being taken to repatriate their bodies.

The government said that the situation had not improved yet to try sending them by air or sea.

The magisterial inquiry and the post-mortems on 84 bodies were concluded in the southern port town of Galle on March 5. Eighty of the 84 personnel were identified by the survivors.

The sailors of the second ship IRIS Bushehr are currently at the naval facility at Welisara outside Colombo.

Sri Lanka is yet to make a decision on their repatriation. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has said Sri Lanka would strictly adhere to the relevant international laws to deal with the situation.