According to a Wednesday 4 of March 2026 report by AFP New Agency, nearly 150 people were allegedly missing and several confirmed dead after an Iranian warship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka, following what crew members described as an explosion, officials said.
Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 sailors from the frigate IRIS Dena, but hopes were fading for 148 others, the island’s Foreign Minister and defence officials confirmed.
The cause of the reported explosion aboard the frigate remained unclear. The vessel was travelling after reportedly participating in a military exercise at India’s eastern port of Visakhapatnam.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that the 32 rescued Iranians were immediately rushed to the main hospital in the southern region of the island. He added that two navy vessels and a reconnaissance plane were deployed to continue searching for survivors.
The frigate issued a distress call at dawn on Wednesday. “Within less than an hour, a rescue vessel reached the area about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the southern port of Galle,” the minister said.
By the time the navy’s rescue boats arrived, the frigate had completely sunk, leaving only an oil slick on the water’s surface.
“We are keeping up a search, but we don’t know yet what happened to the rest of the crew,” a defenve official told AFP, dimming prospects for finding any more survivors.
The director of Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, S. D. Ranga, said, “I was told there may be fatalities, but only 32 injured sailors had been brought in.”
The sinking comes amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East where Israel and the United States (US) have launched strikes against Iran. This incident follows Iran’s navy conducting its first military drill since a 12-day conflict with Israel.
Officials continue to investigate the cause of the explosion as Sri Lankan authorities maintain a search-and-rescue operation in the waters south of Galle.
Efforts remain focused on locating the missing sailors, while medical teams prepare to treat those rescued from the vessel.