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The bodies of dozens of Iranian sailors killed when a United States submarine attacked and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the southern coast of Sri Lanka are set to be returned to Iran, according to Iranian authorities.
Iran’s army said that 84 of the 104 sailors killed in the attack had been identified and would soon be repatriated.
According to international media reports, including Al Jazeera, a statement carried by Fars News Agency quoted the Iranian army’s public relations office as saying the repatriation was being carried out with the assistance of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the cooperation of the Sri Lankan government.
The remains of the sailors had been stored in two mobile cold rooms at the Galle National Hospital after being recovered following the sinking of the warship in waters off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
On Tuesday, Galle Chief Magistrate Sameera Dodangoda ordered that the bodies be released to officials of the Iranian Embassy in Colombo.
The order was issued after the Galle Port Police made a request to the Galle Chief Magistrate’s Court seeking authorisation to hand over the remains.
The sinking of the IRIS Dena has drawn international attention after a US submarine attacked the vessel in the Indian Ocean close to Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle. According to Iranian authorities, 104 sailors were killed and dozens more were injured in the strike.
Sri Lanka’s navy later conducted rescue operations and recovered the bodies from the sea.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya Member of Parliament Sujeewa Senasinghe questioned the expenditure involved in storing the remains of the sailors and caring for those rescued from the vessel.
“We do not know what agreement was reached by the President with the USA and India. The government has got involved in an unwanted problem. There are over 80 bodies. How long will we be required to keep the bodies? How long will we have to use the cold freezers? What is the expense incurred? There are reports that the rescued sailors are wanted by Iran and the USA. We do not know how we are going to prepare for this,” he said.
Responding to the criticism, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the Sri Lankan government would bear the related costs on humanitarian grounds.
“Until those bodies remain in Sri Lanka, until the sailors remain under the responsibility of the Sri Lankan Government, and until the injured Iranian soldiers are admitted in our hospitals, the Government of Sri Lanka will take up the expenses on a humanitarian basis,” he said in a statement on social media.