People prepare for transferring bodies of identified Iranian sailors killed in the March 4 U.S. attack on the warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka's coast in Galle, Sri Lanka, March 13, 2026. The bodies of 84 identified Iranian sailors killed in the March 4 U.S. attack on the warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka's coast were repatriated to Iran, Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry said Friday. (Xinhua)
COLOMBO, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The bodies of 84 identified Iranian sailors killed in the March 4 U.S. attack on the warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka's coast were repatriated to Iran, Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry said Friday.
The bodies are being transported to Iran via a special flight departed Friday afternoon from Mattala International Airport in the country's Southern Province.
On March 11, Galle Chief Magistrate Sameera Dodangoda ordered that the bodies, which had been kept in two mobile cold storage units at the Galle National Hospital, be handed over to officials from the Iranian embassy in Sri Lanka, the ministry said.
The magistrate directed the hospital director to release the remains following a request submitted to the Galle Magistrate's Court by the Galle Harbor Police, the ministry said.
Iran has also announced that the bodies of the sailors killed in the incident would soon be returned home. In a statement, the Iranian Army's public relations office said the bodies would be transferred to Iran with the joint efforts of Iran's Foreign Ministry and the Sri Lankan government. ■