Sri Lanka repatriates remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed in US torpedo strike

Sri Lanka repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors on Friday night. These sailors died when their frigate was sunk by a US submarine nine days earlier. The IRIS Dena was hit by a torpedo on March 4, just off Sri Lanka's coast, in an event that expanded the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean. An airport official at Mattala International Airport said that an Airbus A340 chartered by Iran took off shortly after carrying the sailors' remains. The official, who wished to remain unnamed, noted that the flight was delayed due to the loading of 84 sealed boxes. The destination of the flight was not revealed. The Foreign Ministry stated that 32 sailors from the frigate, who were rescued after the attack, will stay in Sri Lanka for now. Out of these, 22 have been discharged from the hospital and are currently at an air force base in the southern part of the island. A day after the Dena sank, a second Iranian warship, the IRIS Bushehr, entered Sri Lankan waters. Sri Lanka is providing shelter for the ship and its crew of 219. Sri Lankan officials mentioned that discussions about repatriating the Bushehr crew and the rescued sailors from the Dena have not yet begun, but they assured that the sailors will be treated according to Colombo's international commitments.