Navy aids Sri Lanka's ongoing search for crew of Iran warship sunk by US

A torpedo from a US Navy submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka's coast on Wednesday

A day after a torpedo from a United States (US) Navy submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast and brought the ongoing war in West Asia to India’s doorstep, the Indian Navy continued to assist in efforts to search for missing members of the crew as a humanitarian measure for shipwrecked personnel, an official Navy release said on Thursday.

 

“A distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the MRCC [Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre] Colombo in the early hours of March 4, 2026, as reported by the Sri Lankan Navy. The ship was operating 20 nautical miles west of Galle in the SAR [search and rescue] region under Sri Lankan responsibility,” said the release.

 

 

The release stated that the Indian Navy “promptly launched” SAR efforts on receipt of information, starting with the deployment of a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 10:00 AM on Wednesday to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka. Another aircraft with air-droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment.

 

The Navy’s sail training ship INS Tarangini, which was operating in the vicinity, was also deployed to aid the rescue efforts and arrived in the search area by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, by which time SAR efforts had already been undertaken by the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies, added the release.

 

The Navy said that the survey vessel INS Ikshak has also sailed from Kochi in Kerala to augment the search efforts and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel as a humanitarian measure for shipwrecked personnel. “Coordination with the Sri Lankan side on SAR efforts is ongoing,” added the release.

 

The Iranian warship had visited India to participate in the International Fleet Review, which featured vessels from 18 nations, including the US, and the Navy’s flagship multilateral exercise, MILAN 2026, during the February 15–25 period.

 

The Iranian warship was sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday by a US submarine, with 32 sailors rescued and over 100 reported missing or dead, out of an estimated 180 crew on board.

 

In a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the ship was sunk by a torpedo from a US submarine.

 

After receiving information that the IRIS Dena was in distress, Sri Lanka’s navy sent ships and air force planes for a rescue mission.