The Sri Lanka Navy has rescued 35 individuals from an Iranian vessel that encountered distress in the southern seas off Sri Lanka.
According to the Ministry of Defence, arrangements have been made to transport the rescued individuals to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle for medical attention.
The Sri Lanka Air Force has also deployed an aircraft to the area to support ongoing search operations.
Speaking in Parliament today (04), Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath stated that the incident occurred outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. He confirmed that the Navy launched immediate rescue operations after receiving a distress call indicating that the vessel was sinking.
Earlier reports indicated that at least 30 people had been rescued from the vessel, which is believed to belong to the Iranian Navy.
The distress call was received from a location approximately 40 nautical miles off Galle Harbour, prompting the Sri Lanka Navy to dispatch vessels to the site to carry out rescue operations.
Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Retd) Aruna Jayasekara said that necessary measures are already being taken in response to the incident.