India’s Navy launched search and rescue (SAR) operations after a distress call was received from the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in waters off Sri Lanka, officials said in a statement. The Iranian frigate was sunk by a US submarine on Wednesday, marking the first spillover of the West Asia war onto South Asia.
The alert was received at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Colombo in the early hours of March 4 by the Sri Lankan navy. The ship was operating around 20 nautical miles west of Galle in a search and rescue region under Sri Lanka’s responsibility.
The Indian Navy quickly deployed a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at around 1000 hours to support the search efforts led by Sri Lanka. Another aircraft equipped with air-droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment.
The naval training ship INS Tarangini, which was operating in the vicinity, was diverted to assist in the rescue effort and reached the search area by 1600 hours the same day.
By then, search and rescue operations had already been initiated by the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies.
Officials added that the Indian naval vessel INS Ikshak had sailed from Kochi to further augment the search operations. The ship remains in the area to assist in locating missing personnel as part of humanitarian efforts.
Indian authorities said coordination with Sri Lankan agencies on the rescue operation is continuing.