The remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed when the warship IRIS Dena was struck on March 4 are to be repatriated after a Sri Lankan court ordered the bodies be handed to the Iranian embassy. The coffins are held at Galle's National Hospital and will be flown from Mattala International Airport on a special flight, Sri Lankan media and embassy sources said. Sri Lanka has also issued 30-day visas to 208 crew from the IRIS Booshehr; together with 32 survivors from the Dena, about 240 Iranian crew remain in the country amid diplomatic talks.
84 Iranian Sailors’ Remains to Be Repatriated From Sri Lanka After Court Order
Medical personnel and Sri Lanka Navy sailors provide emergency treatment to an injured Iranian crew member rescued after responding to a distress call from the Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena, while at sea within Sri Lanka’s maritime search and rescue region, in Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka, March 4, 2026. Sri Lanka Navy/Handout via REUTERS
Colombo, March 13 — The remains of 84 Iranian sailors who died after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was struck on March 4 are set to be flown home, sources at the Iranian embassy in Colombo and Sri Lankan media told Reuters on Friday.
Iranian officials and local reports say the Dena was hit by a torpedo from a U.S. submarine while returning from a naval exercise in India amid heightened U.S.-Israeli tensions with Iran. A Sri Lankan court this week ordered that the bodies, currently held at the National Hospital in the southern port city of Galle, be handed over to the Iranian embassy for repatriation.
Local media, citing the Sri Lankan defence ministry, reported that a special flight will depart from Mattala International Airport on Friday to carry the remains back to Iran. "Arrangements are being made to transport the bodies of the Iranian crew from the hospital to the Mattala airport," an Iranian embassy source in Colombo told Reuters, without specifying the exact departure time.
Reuters images showed a police vehicle escorting large trucks carrying coffins through busy streets in Galle.
Hundreds Of Crew Still In Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has granted 30-day entry visas to 208 crew members from a second Iranian ship, the IRIS Booshehr, after that vessel experienced engine trouble in the same area. Combined with 32 survivors from the IRIS Dena, that brings the total reported number of Iranian crew remaining in Sri Lanka to 240.
The Sri Lankan health, foreign and defence ministries did not respond to Reuters requests for comment, and the Sri Lankan navy said it was not involved in the transport or repatriation operations. Reuters also reported last week that U.S. officials had pressed Colombo not to repatriate survivors from the two vessels.
Both the United States and Iran are important trading partners for Sri Lanka: the U.S. accounts for roughly 40% of Sri Lanka's apparel exports, while Iran is a major buyer of the island's tea, a factor that observers say complicates Colombo's diplomatic calculations.
Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; writing by Hritam Mukherjee and Sakshi Dayal; editing by YP Rajesh.
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