TBM Report
The Sri Lankan government officially repatriated the remains of 45 Iranian sailors on Friday (March 13, 2026), following a lethal underwater engagement off the island’s southern coast. The sailors were casualties of the sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which was struck by a U.S. submarine-launched torpedo last week. The transfer process began after a formal order from Sameera Dodangoda, the Chief Magistrate of Galle, directed the Karapitiya National Hospital to release the bodies to Iranian diplomatic officials.
The tragic incident occurred while the IRIS Dena was transiting back to Iran after participating in a multilateral naval fleet review in the Indian city of Visakhapatnam. Sri Lankan rescue teams had initially recovered a total of 84 bodies from the crash site near the Galle harbor. Defense Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha confirmed that the remains would be flown to Tehran from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport on Friday evening.
In addition to the deceased, 32 surviving crew members were treated at local medical facilities before being discharged on Sunday. These survivors have since been relocated to the Koggala Air Force Base pending further diplomatic arrangements. The repatriation marks the end of a logistical crisis for local authorities, as the Galle hospital morgue had been forced to use makeshift refrigeration units to preserve the bodies due to a lack of permanent space.
This repatriation comes at a time of heightened regional tensions. The Sri Lankan administration had previously stated they would hold the remains until safety conditions normalized, but diplomatic pressure and humanitarian concerns expedited the process. The IRIS Dena disaster remains one of the most significant naval losses in the region, highlighting the precarious nature of maritime security in the Indian Ocean corridor.
, following a lethal underwater engagement off the island's southern coast. The sailors were casualties of the sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which was struck by a U.S. submarine-launched torpedo last week. The transfer process began after a formal order from Sameera Dodangoda, the Chief Magistrate of Galle, directed the Karapitiya National Hospital to release the bodies to Iranian diplomatic officials.){kind=link}