Credir: AFP
The government of Sri Lanka is set to repatriate the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who died when their naval frigate was reportedly sunk by a United States submarine nine days ago, according to officials from the country’s Foreign Ministry.
The sailors were killed after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was torpedoed on March 4 near Sri Lanka’s coastline, an incident that signalled the expansion of the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo said all local procedures for the transfer of the bodies had been completed.
According to him, Iranian authorities arranged a chartered aircraft to transport the remains back to Iran, while the 32 sailors rescued by the Sri Lanka Navy will remain in Sri Lanka for the time being.
Officials said the embalmed remains, sealed in coffins, are scheduled to depart from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in the southern part of the country.
Reports indicated that the first batch of 46 bodies had already arrived at the airport awaiting the Iranian chartered cargo aircraft.
The bodies were recovered from the Indian Ocean and transported to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, about 115 kilometres south of Colombo, where post-mortem examinations were conducted.
Following the investigations, a local magistrate ordered that the remains be handed over to the Embassy of Iran in Sri Lanka for repatriation to the victims’ families.
Officials said the Iranian embassy had yet to issue an official statement on the development at the time of the report.
AFP
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