COLOMBO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered the release of the bodies of 87 Iranian sailors recovered from a sunken warship to officials of the Iranian Embassy in Colombo.
Galle Chief Magistrate Sameera Dodangoda issued the order, advising the director of the Galle National Hospital to hand over the remains to representatives of the Iranian mission. The bodies are currently being held in two mobile cold storage units at the hospital.
The directive was issued after the Galle Harbour Police submitted a request to the Galle Magistrate's Court seeking permission to release the remains.
Sri Lanka's navy recovered the bodies after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine off Sri Lanka's southern coast last week. Following the incident, Sri Lanka dispatched naval vessels to the area, rescuing 32 survivors and recovering 87 bodies from the sea. ■
