Aircraft carrying bodies of Iranian sailors departs from Mattala

2026-03-14 - 14:26

An aircraft carrying the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors who were killed aboard the vessel IRIS DENA, which came under a United States attack in waters south of Sri Lanka, departed for Iran yesterday. It is reported that the aircraft left at 9.29 p.m. yesterday (13). The repatriation of the bodies of the deceased sailors was carried out under the coordination of the Iranian Embassy in Sri Lanka. On 4 March, an Iranian vessel was attacked about 40 miles from the Port of Galle, and it was revealed that around 180 people had been on board. Later, 35 survivors who were rescued from the vessel were admitted to Karapitiya Hospital. Subsequently, United States Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth stated that an Iranian vessel had been sunk in international waters using a torpedo launched from a United States submarine.