A vessel sails off the Galle coast after a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, Iris Dena, off Sri Lanka, in Galle. (REUTERS) A day after a US submarine torpedo sank an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka as it headed home after participating in Exercise MILAN and the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam, the Indian Navy said Thursday it had sent its aircraft and ships to augment the search and rescue (SAR) efforts for IRIS Dena after it put out a distress call.
The Indian Navy statement came on the day the government condoled the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and others killed in air strikes by Israel and the US.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy in New Delhi and signed the condolence book – the first public gesture from the government ever since the assassination of the Iranian leader.
According to sources, Misri, without naming any individual, wrote in the condolence book, “Sincerest condolences on behalf of the Government and the people of India. We pray for peace for the departed souls.”
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri visited the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and signed the condolence book, on behalf of the people and the Government of India, on the demise of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei.”
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Meanwhile, the Indian Navy, in a statement, said it launched its SAR efforts commencing with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft P8I at 1000 hours Wednesday to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka.
It said another aircraft with air droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment. Additionally, INS Tarangini ,which was operating in the vicinity, was deployed to aid the rescue efforts and arrived in the search area by 1600 hours Wednesday when the SAR had been undertaken by the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies.
The Navy said INS Ikshak had also sailed from Kochi to augment the search efforts and continues to remain in the area to search for missing personnel as a humanitarian measure.
According to the Navy, a distress call from IRIS Dena was received at the MRCC Colombo in the early hours of Wednesday. The ship, it said, was operating 20 NM (nautical miles) west of Galle in the SAR region under Sri Lankan responsibility.
