The Indian Navy said rescue operations were launched following a distress call from Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which was hit by a torpedo by a US submarine, killing most of the sailors on board.
The Indian Navy said on Thursday that it has launched search and rescue efforts after receiving a distress call from Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which was torpedoed by a US submarine off the Sri Lankan coast.
In a statement, the Navy said that the call was received at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo in the early hours of March 4. The Iranian warship was located 20 nautical miles of Galle in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) under Lankan responsibility.
As soon as the Indian Navy received the call, they promptly launched rescue operations. A long-range maritime patrol aircraft was sent to speed up search efforts that had already been started by Sri Lanka. Another aircraft with air-droppable life rafts was also kept on standby.
INS Tarangini, which was operating in the vicinity at the time of the call, was deployed to help in the search and rescue operations. Additionally, INS Ikshak sailed from Kochi to contribute to the rescue operations, and it remains in the region to help search for missing personnel as a humanitarian measure, the Navy said.
The Indian Navy’s coordination with the Sri Lankan side on the search and rescue operations is ongoing.
