Indian Navy says it responded to distress call of Iranian ship IRIS Dena, deployed aircraft, vessel

The Indian Navy has deployed aircraft and ships to assist in the search and rescue operations for the Iranian ship IRIS Dena. This vessel was struck by an American torpedo on Wednesday while returning to Iran after taking part in the MILAN exercise and the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam. A Navy statement revealed that the search and rescue (SAR) efforts began with the launch of a long-range maritime patrol aircraft, P8I, at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, supporting the search led by Sri Lanka. Another aircraft, equipped with life rafts that can be dropped from the air, was also on standby for quick action. Furthermore, INS Tarangini, which was nearby, was sent to help with the rescue and reached the search area by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, where the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies were already conducting SAR operations. The Navy mentioned that INS Ikshak has left Kochi to further enhance the search efforts and is still in the area looking for missing crew members as part of its humanitarian mission. The distress call from IRIS Dena was received by the MRCC Colombo in the early hours of March 26. At that time, the ship was located 20 nautical miles west of Galle, within the SAR zone that Sri Lanka oversees.