At least 101 people are missing, and 78 are injured after a submarine attack on an Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka, sources from the country’s navy and defence say.
The Sri Lankan navy has dispatched a rescue team after receiving distress calls from the Iranian warship the IRIS Dena, a defence ministry spokeperson said.
"At this point, 79 people have been rescued and taken to the hospital, with one in serious condition. Another 101 are believed to be missing," the navy source said.
The ship was reportedly attacked by a US submarine. However it is unclear whether the Iranian frigate was being shadowed by a USS Pinckney at the time of the incident, The Indian Express reported.
The frigate was on its return voyage to Iran after attending a naval engagement hosted by India when it reported the emergency. India had hosted the Indian Navy’s International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam in mid-February which brought together the naval forces of multiple countries.
The ship reportedly carried around 180 crew members.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had earlier told Parliament that the country's military has rescued 30 people from the sinking vessel in waters near the country. An airforce surveillance aircraft has been dispatched to conduct search operations in the area where the attack occured.
He also said that Sri Lanka would take appropriate action.
Local media also reported that the distress signals were sent off about 40 nautical miles south of the coast of Galle. The injured were also admitted to hospitals in Galle which is about 115 kilometres south of Colombo.
Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said,“We responded to the distress call under our international obligations as this falls within Sri Lanka’s Search and Rescue Area in the Indian Ocean.”
Earlier Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the US had destroyed about 17 Iranian warships including a submarine in its operations against the country. Tehran has not confirmed all of the attacks.