Iranian frigate Iris Dena sinks off southern coast of Sri Lanka leaving over one hundred sailors missing amid claims of submarine attack

The IRIS Dena frigate sank off Galle, Sri Lanka. 78 sailors were rescued while 101 remain missing amid conflicting reports of a foreign submarine attack.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 4, 2026, 7:15 AM EST

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Hürriyet Daily News

Loss of the IRIS Dena off Galle

The Iranian Navy's Southern Fleet has suffered a major maritime loss following the sinking of the IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate, in the waters off southern Sri Lanka. The vessel issued an emergency distress call early Wednesday morning before disappearing from surface tracking. Sri Lankan Navy officials who responded to the coordinates reported finding only traces of oil spills and floating debris where the warship had been positioned. The sinking occurs at a moment of extreme naval sensitivity, as the frigate had just concluded its participation in the Milan 2026 multinational naval exercises held in India.

Search and rescue operations

A joint humanitarian effort involving the Sri Lankan Navy and Air Force is currently focused on the waters near the city of Galle. Rescue teams successfully recovered 78 sailors from the water, all of whom were transported to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital for treatment of various injuries. However, the fate of 101 additional crew members remains unknown. Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath confirmed that several bodies have been recovered in the demarcated search area, and divers are being deployed to investigate the submerged remains of the vessel to locate any trapped personnel.

Contradictory reports on cause of sinking

The cause of the maritime disaster is currently a subject of intense international speculation and conflicting reports. Initial accounts from local defense sources suggested that the IRIS Dena was "attacked by a foreign submarine," a claim that gained traction given the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iranian assets. However, the Sri Lanka Navy has moved to distance itself from these allegations. Spokesman Buddhika Sampath stated that the military completely rejects reports of a submarine strike at this stage, emphasizing that the sinking occurred beyond Sri Lankan territorial waters and is officially classified as an accident pending a technical investigation.