New Delhi, March 3 The Indian Navy said on Thursday that it joined the search and rescue operation after receiving a distress call from the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which sank off the coast of Sri Lanka after being hit by a torpedo fired by a US submarine.
The Iranian warship was returning home after participating in the Milan multilateral naval exercise hosted by India. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack, according to Sri Lankan authorities.
In a statement, the Indian Navy said it promptly launched its search and rescue (SAR) efforts with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 10 am on Wednesday to assist the rescue operations led by Sri Lanka.
"Another aircraft with air-droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment. INS Tarangini, which was operating in the area, was deployed to assist in the rescue efforts and arrived at the search area by 4 pm," it said.
"By this time, the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies had already undertaken the search and rescue operations," it said.
The Indian Navy said a distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC) in Colombo in the early hours of Wednesday, as reported by the Sri Lankan Navy.
It said the Iranian ship was operating 20 nautical miles west of Galle, in an area under Sri Lanka's responsibility.
"Upon receiving this information, the Indian Navy promptly launched its SAR efforts, starting with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hours to assist the search efforts led by Sri Lanka," the Navy said.
It also said that another Indian naval ship, INS Ikshak, sailed from Kochi to augment the search efforts and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel.
"Coordination with the Sri Lankan side on Search and Rescue efforts is ongoing," the Navy said.
