Sri Lanka’s government is expected to make a decision within the next two days regarding 239 Iranian sailors rescued from two Iranian naval vessels, according to Deputy Minister of Defence, retired Major General Arun Jayasekara.
The sailors were rescued from the Iranian vessels IRIS Dena and IRIS Bushehr, and are currently being held at security camps in Welisara and Koggala, the deputy minister said.
He explained that several rounds of discussions have taken place in recent days between Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Iranian Ambassador, and the Iranian government regarding the matter.
As a result of those talks, all bodies of the deceased sailors have already been repatriated to Iran, Jayasekara added.
According to officials, 32 sailors rescued from the IRIS Dena and 207 sailors from the IRIS Bushehr are currently under the custody of Sri Lankan authorities.
Earlier, the bodies of 82 sailors from the IRIS Dena were sent back to Iran on March 13 via a special aircraft.
The IRIS Dena was reportedly destroyed in the deep sea off Galle on March 4 following an attack by a U.S. submarine, authorities said.
Meanwhile, the IRIS Bushehr was rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy and brought safely to the Trincomalee Harbour.
English (United States) ·