- By Surarika Das
- Fri, 06 Mar 2026 08:08 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Indian Navy launched a search and rescue operation on Wednesday following a distress call from the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena, which was received by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Colombo. The Navy said on Thursday that the frigate was positioned 20 nautical miles west of Galle, within the Sri Lankan search and rescue region of responsibility.
Upon receiving the information, the Indian Navy deployed a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at approximately 10:00. While the rescue operation was spearheaded by the Sri Lankan authorities, a second Indian aircraft equipped with air-droppable life rafts was kept on standby for immediate deployment.
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INS Tarangini And Ikshak To The Rescue
To provide further assistance, INS Tarangini was redirected from its nearby operations and reached the site by 16:00 on the same day. Meanwhile, INS Ikshak sailed from Kochi to bolster the rescue efforts and remained deployed in the area to search for missing personnel and assist shipwrecked crew members.
A distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the MRCC Colombo in the early hours of 04 Mar 2026, as reported by the Sri Lanka Navy. The ship was operating 20 NM west of Galle in the SAR region under Sri Lanka’s responsibility
— PIB India (@PIB_India) March 6, 2026
On receipt of the information, the Indian Navy…
The frigate sank on 4 March after being torpedoed by a US submarine in international waters, approximately 40 nautical miles off Galle on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. Although the vessel issued a distress call at dawn reporting an explosion, it had already foundered by the time Sri Lankan rescue ships arrived at the scene. The attack took place roughly one hour's distance from the main naval base at Galle.
The IRIS Dena was returning to Iran after participating in a military exercise at Visakhapatnam. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, labelled the incident an "atrocity at sea" in a post on X, stating that the ship, which carried almost 130 sailors, had been struck without warning in international waters, 2,000 miles from Iran's shores. He described the IRIS Dena as a "guest of India's Navy" and cautioned that the US would "bitterly regret" setting such an example.
‘Quiet Death’ By Torpedo
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the action at the Pentagon, describing it as a "quiet death" achieved with a torpedo. He stated that it marked a significant extension of operations in the ongoing conflict sparked by a joint US-Israel attack on Iran, which has now spread beyond the Middle East.
Sri Lanka has maintained neutrality in the conflict and has repeatedly called for a resolution through discussion. Iran remains a major buyer of Sri Lankan tea, which is the island's primary export. A second Iranian warship, identified as the IRIS Bushehr and carrying nearly 300 crew and cadets, approached Sri Lankan waters today.