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Nazrin Abdul

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Sri Lanka’s navy has rescued 32 people after responding to a distress call from the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena early this morning, officials confirmed.

As reported by AzerNEWS, citing foreign media, navy spokesman Budhika Sampath said the incident occurred outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters but within its designated search and rescue region, obligating authorities to respond under international maritime law.

“Though it was beyond our waters, it was within our search and rescue region. So we were obliged to respond as per international obligations,” Sampath said.

Rescue teams arriving at the scene found survivors floating in the water, along with oil slicks and life rafts. The vessel itself was not visible at the time operations began.

“We found people floating on the water, rescued them, and later when we inquired we found that those people are from an Iranian ship,” he added.

According to ship documentation, approximately 180 people were believed to have been on board. Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuiyakontha, told BBC Sinhala that around 140 individuals are currently feared missing. However, authorities say the exact number remains unconfirmed.

The navy spokesman rejected reports that the vessel was sunk in a submarine attack, stating that the cause of the incident remains unknown. So far, Sri Lanka’s military has not been able to determine what led to the ship’s sinking.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing.