Sri Lanka court orders handover of Iranian sailors’ bodies

A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered that the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a US attack on an Iranian vessel off the island nation’s coast be handed over to Iran’s embassy.

Currently, the bodies are stored in two freezer containers in Galle National Hospital. Galle Chief Magistrate Sameera Dodangoda ordered the director of the hospital to hand over the bodies to the Iranian embassy.

The order was issued following a request by the Galle Harbour Police.

Last week on Wednesday, Sri Lanka said it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors after the US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle on the island’s southern coast.

The ship was returning to Iran from Visakhapatnam, India, where it had participated in a naval fleet review exercise. The bodies were brought to Galle National Hospital in Karapitiya along with 32 survivors last Thursday. The Sri Lankan Government had earlier said the bodies would be kept in the country until the situation improved to enable their repatriation.

As the hospital morgue lacked sufficient capacity, the bodies were being kept under makeshift refrigeration arrangements.

The 32 survivors were discharged on Sunday and moved to the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Koggala in Galle. They will be transferred later to the naval facility at Welisara, outside the capital Colombo, where 204 sailors from another Iranian ship, Iris Bushehr, have been staying since last Friday.

Naval officials said the Iris Bushehr remains anchored outside the Colombo port region after developing engine trouble.

The vessel was to be moved to the eastern port city of Trincomalee.