Iranian survivors recover in hospital as search continues for missing crew after deadly submarine strike
GALLE, Sri Lanka: Iranian sailors who survived a United States submarine attack in the Indian Ocean are receiving treatment at a hospital in Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle, officials said Thursday. The attack on the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena on Wednesday killed dozens of crew members.
Authorities said 87 bodies were brought to the National Hospital in Galle after military rescuers responded to the warship’s distress signal early Wednesday morning. Search operations for around 60 crew members who remain missing continued Thursday.
Thirty-two sailors rescued from the vessel were admitted with relatively minor injuries and were expected to be discharged later in the day. Police personnel maintained security outside ward 58 while doctors and nurses attended to survivors.
The strike represents a major escalation of the ongoing conflict, extending hostilities far beyond the Gulf region, where U.S. and Israeli forces have been targeting Iran and Tehran has responded with missile and drone strikes.
At the Pentagon, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the attack, describing the submarine strike on the Iranian warship in international waters as “a quiet end.” Pentagon-released footage shows a large explosion at the vessel’s stern, lifting part of the ship before it sank.
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