Sri Lanka repatriates stranded Iranian sailors after US attack
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Over 200 Iranian sailors stranded in Sri Lanka after a US torpedo attack on the warship Iris Dena are returning home, with 32 from Iris Dena and 206 from Irins Bushehr having left the country.
- The Iris Dena sank on March 4 near Sri Lanka's southern coast after being hit by a US submarine torpedo, resulting in 104 deaths, while the Irins Bushehr was allowed to dock after an engine malfunction.
- Sri Lanka granted the stranded sailors 30-day entry visas and housed them in military camps before their departure, with about 15 sailors remaining to operate the Irins Bushehr anchored off Trincomalee.
- The attack occurred amid escalating US-Israeli tensions with Iran, leading to Iranian retaliatory strikes in the Middle East, and Sri Lanka maintained a neutral stance while offering humanitarian assistance.
- The bodies of 84 sailors killed in the attack were recovered and repatriated to Iran via a chartered flight arranged by the Iranian government.
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