COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Friday repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who perished when their frigate was sunk nine days ago by a US submarine, local officials said.
The seamen were killed when the IRIS Dena was torpedoed on March 4 just off the coast of Sri Lanka, in an incident that extended the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean.
An Airbus A340 chartered by Iran “left a short while ago carrying the remains of the sailors,” an airport official at Mattala International Airport in the island´s south told AFP by telephone.
“The departure was delayed because 84 sealed boxes had to be loaded,” added the official who requested anonymity.
The destination of the flight was not disclosed.
The 32 sailors from the frigate who were rescued following the attack will remain in Sri Lanka for the time being, the Foreign Ministry said.
Of them, 22 have been discharged from the hospital and are being held at an air force base in the south of the island.
A second Iranian warship, the IRIS Bushehr, was allowed into Sri Lankan waters a day after Dena was sunk. Sri Lanka is providing safe harbour for the ship and its crew of 219.
Sri Lankan officials said they have not begun discussions on repatriating the Bushehr crew and those rescued from the Dena, but vowed that the sailors will be treated in line with Colombo´s international obligations.
