Indian Navy launches rescue operation after Iranian warship sinks near Sri Lanka

According to a Navy statement, the distress call from IRIS Dena was received by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Colombo in the early hours of March 4.

The frigate was located around 20 nautical miles west of Galle, within the search-and-rescue region under Sri Lanka’s responsibility.

Upon receiving the alert, the Indian Navy began assisting the rescue effort. A long-range maritime patrol aircraft was deployed at around 10 am on March 4 to support operations already underway under Sri Lankan leadership.

Another aircraft equipped with air-droppable life rafts remained on standby for immediate deployment if required.

The Navy also diverted INS Tarangini, a sailing training vessel operating nearby, to assist in the rescue effort. The ship reached the search area by 4 pm, by which time the Sri Lanka Navy and other agencies had already begun search operations.

Meanwhile, INS Ikshak sailed from Kochi to reinforce the mission and continued to search for missing personnel as part of the humanitarian effort for the shipwrecked crew.

The sinking occurred on March 4 when a US submarine torpedoed IRIS Dena in international waters about 40 nautical miles off Galle, along Sri Lanka’s southern coast.

The vessel reportedly issued a distress call at dawn after an explosion, but had sunk by the time Sri Lankan rescue ships reached the location. The attack took place roughly an hour’s distance from Galle’s main naval base.

The frigate had been returning to Iran after participating in a naval exercise at Visakhapatnam in India.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the incident as an “atrocity at sea” in a post on X, saying the ship , carrying nearly 130 sailors, had been struck without warning in international waters, about 2,000 miles from Iran’s shores.

He described IRIS Dena as a “guest of India’s Navy” and warned that the United States would “bitterly regret” setting such a precedent.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike at the United States Department of Defense, describing it as a “quiet death” delivered by a torpedo.

He said the attack marked a major expansion of operations in the conflict triggered by a joint US-Israel strike on Iran.

Sri Lanka has maintained neutrality in the conflict and has repeatedly called for dialogue to resolve the crisis. Iran remains one of the largest buyers of Sri Lankan tea, the island nation’s primary export.

Meanwhile, a second Iranian warship, identified as IRIS Bushehr, approached Sri Lankan waters on Thursday carrying nearly 300 crew members and naval cadets.