32 Iranians rescued from warship “IRIS Dena” admitted to Karapitiya Hospital

Thirty-two Iranians were rescued from the Iranian warship “IRIS Dena” by the Sri Lanka Navy earlier today, October 4. They have been taken to Karapitiya Hospital for care. The Iranian Navy ship had around 180 people on board and was reported to be in trouble about 40 nautical miles off the Galle coast this morning. The Sri Lanka Navy had previously confirmed that around 30 people were saved from the distressed vessel in the southern seas of Sri Lanka. In response to the situation, the Sri Lanka Air Force sent an aircraft to help with the search efforts. During a speech in Parliament today, Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath mentioned that the ship was not within Sri Lanka's territorial waters when the incident happened. However, due to Sri Lanka's international responsibilities, local vessels were sent to conduct a rescue. The Foreign Minister also stated that the Navy received a distress call at around 5:08 a.m. indicating that the ship was sinking, prompting rescue operations to begin at approximately 7:00 a.m.