Sri Lanka repatriates 238 stranded Iranian sailors: minister

Sri Lanka has repatriated 238 Iranian sailors stranded in the South Asian country after one of their warships was torpedoed by a US submarine, a minister told AFP today (15 April).

Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara said 32 sailors rescued from the IRIS Dena, a frigate attacked on March 4 just off Sri Lanka, and another 206 from the IRIS Bushehr left on Tuesday.

"A few sailors from the IRIS Bushehr are staying back to operate the vessel, but 206 joined those rescued from the IRIS Dena and returned home last night in a chartered aircraft," Jayasekara said.

Official sources said 15 Iranian sailors will remain in Sri Lanka to operate the IRIS Bushehr, which is anchored off Trincomalee in the northeast of the island.

The attack on the IRIS Dena brought the Middle East conflict into the Indian Ocean, killing 104 sailors in the early days of the US and Israeli war against Iran, according to Iranian authorities.

The bodies of 84 victims were recovered and have been repatriated.

Last month, Iran's ambassador to Sri Lanka Alireza Delkhosh said Tehran was in talks with Colombo to repatriate sailors from the IRIS Bushehr which was given safe harbour in Sri Lanka after the IRIS Dena was sunk.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the island provided protection to the Bushehr crew on humanitarian grounds in line with the 1907 Hague Convention.

It was not immediately clear on what basis the sailors from the second Iranian vessel were allowed to leave Sri Lankan custody.

Sri Lanka has refused permission for US warplanes to use ground facilities in the country in order to maintain Colombo's neutrality.

A third Iranian ship -- the IRIS Lavan, with 183 crew members -- sought shelter in India's Kochi port in early March.

More than 100 non-essential crew of the IRIS Lavan have since left India.