The Navy has announced the recovery of 84 bodies from the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena, which sank in southern waters beyond Sri Lanka’s maritime boundary following a U.S. attack. Search and rescue operations are ongoing to locate additional missing crew members.  

The vessel, with a crew of 180, was returning to Iran after participating in an international naval review and military exercises in Visakhapatnam, India.

It was attacked in deep waters south of Sri Lanka by a U.S. submarine, leading to its sinking.  

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine sank the Iranian warship, which it believed was in international waters, by torpedo the first such sinking since World War II. Hegseth did not specify the name of the Iranian ship.  

Earlier, the Sri Lanka Navy rescued 32 crew members after a distress call from IRIS Dena. They were admitted to Galle National Hospital.

Navy officials emphasised that the primary focus was saving lives, noting that while the exact number of missing remains unknown, initial observations indicated oil patches and floating life rafts on the water.