Sri Lanka offloads crew and seizes Iranian frigate following a US submarine attack that killed 84 sailors, as Colombo declares neutrality in the conflict.
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has offloaded the crew of an Iranian navy vessel and assumed control of it. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced the move in a televised address on Thursday, a day after a deadly US submarine attack on another Iranian ship.
The navy offloaded 208 sailors from the IRIS Bushehr, which had requested port entry citing engine trouble. Dissanayake confirmed the Bushehr, like the torpedoed IRIS Dena, had recently participated in a naval exercise in eastern India.
At least 84 sailors were killed in Wednesday’s torpedo attack off Sri Lanka’s southern coast. The strike was the first military action far outside the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denounced the attack and warned Washington it would “bitterly regret” establishing such a precedent. Dissanayake insisted his country was “not taking sides in this conflict”.
“But while maintaining our neutrality we are taking action to save lives,” he said. “No person should die in a war like this. Every life is equally precious.”
The Bushehr will be taken to the smaller Trincomalee port on the island’s north-eastern side. The president said it would not anchor at the main Colombo port due to risks to merchant shipping and possible insurance increases.
Authorities in the southern port city of Galle began an inquest into the deaths of the 84 sailors. With the local morgue overloaded, staff rushed to set up refrigerated shipping containers to preserve the remains.
Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said the search for missing sailors continued. Sri Lanka earlier stated 180 people were on board the Dena, a figure higher than Iran’s count of 130.
The US defence secretary said the strike was the first by an American submarine since World War II. Meanwhile, 32 rescued Iranians were still being treated under tight security at a Galle hospital.
“Our priority is to ensure that all the wounded, sick and shipwrecked receive the assistance they are entitled to without delay,” said ICRC spokesperson Ruwanthi Jayasundare in Colombo. The hospital’s emergency unit was off-limits, with a separate ward set up for the wounded.
“Most of them have minor injuries, but there were a few with fractures and burns,” an unnamed nurse said. Sri Lanka has remained neutral, repeatedly urging dialogue to resolve the Middle East conflict.
Iran is a key buyer of Sri Lankan tea, the country’s main export commodity.