The Sri Lanka Navy has rejected claims by foreign media that the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which was reportedly hit about 40 nautical miles off Sri Lanka, has sunk.
The Navy spokesperson made these remarks while addressing a special press conference held by the Sri Lanka Navy today (04) regarding the incident involving the Iranian vessel.
“Basically, we are focused on saving the lives of those aboard the vessel that was hit. Only after that will we be able to obtain an investigation and technical report on how this happened. Our main priority is to rescue any remaining survivors. We will be able to state later how many people were lost on this ship,” the spokesperson said.
“According to the information we received, when we reached the scene of the accident, we observed only a large oil slick. Therefore, we cannot declare that the ship has sunk. So far, Sri Lanka has rescued 32 people from the vessel and admitted them to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle. Further details can be provided only after obtaining information from them,” he added.
The Navy spokesperson also noted that several bodies had been found floating at sea and are suspected to be members of the ship’s crew.
