COLOMBO: Sri Lanka rescued 32 "critically wounded" sailors aboard the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which sank Wednesday just outside the island's territorial waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.
No information was immediately available on the cause of the explosion that sank the vessel, but Herath told parliament that the injured sailors were taken to a hospital in the island's south.
The 180-crew frigate had issued a distress call at dawn.
Sri Lanka's defence ministry said it was searching for the other crew of the IRIS Dena, which went down about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the island.
"We are keeping up a search, but we don't know yet what happened to the rest of the crew," an official told AFP, dimming prospects for finding any more survivors.
Herath said two Sri Lankan navy vessels and an aircraft were deployed for the rescue operation, but did not say what caused the Iranian warship to sink.
An opposition legislator asked in parliament whether the vessel had been bombed as part of the ongoing US-Israeli attacks against Iran, but there was no immediate response from the government.
Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said their operation was in line with Sri Lanka's maritime obligations and that 32 Iranian sailors were evacuated to the main hospital in Galle, 115 kilometres (70 miles) south of the capital Colombo.
"We responded to the distress call under our international obligations, as this is within our search and rescue area in the Indian Ocean," Sampath told AFP.
Both Sri Lanka's navy and the air force said they were not releasing footage of the rescue because it involved the military of another state.
Police stepped up security outside the Galle hospital as the wounded Iranians were brought there by the local navy.
Sri Lanka rescues 32 sailors from sunk Iranian warship, at least 100 still missing
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Sri Lanka rescues 32 sailors from sunk Iranian warship, at least 100 still missing
- Sri Lanka sent ships and aircraft to rescue 30 Iranian sailors aboard the Iranian frigate Iris Dena which was sinking Wednesday just outside the island’s territorial waters
Mine collapse in eastern Congo leaves 200 dead, authorities say, but rebels dispute the number
- Senior M23 official Fanny Kaj disputed the figure, saying that the collapse was caused by “bombings”
- Ibrahim Taluseke, a miner at the site, said that he had helped to recover more than 200 bodies from the area
GOMA, Congo: A mine collapse at a major coltan mining site in eastern Congo left at least 200 dead, according to Congolese authorities, a number disputed by the rebel group that controls the mine.
The collapse took place Tuesday at the Rubaya mines, which are controlled by the M23 rebel group, Congo’s Ministry of Mines said in a statement on Wednesday. It was the latest such tragedy in the mineral-rich and rebel-controlled territories of the country.
But senior M23 official Fanny Kaj disputed the figure, saying that the collapse was caused by “bombings” and only five people had been killed.
“I can confirm that what people are publishing is not true. There was no landslide; there were bombings, and the death toll isn’t what people are saying. It’s simply about five people who died,” Kaj said.
Ibrahim Taluseke, a miner at the site, said that he had helped to recover more than 200 bodies from the area.
“We are afraid, but these are lives that are in danger,” said Taluseke. “The owners of the pits do not accept that the exact number of deaths be revealed.”
Rubaya lies in the heart of eastern Congo, a mineral-rich part of the Central African nation which for decades has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23 group, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis.
Congo is a major supplier of coltan, a black metallic ore that contains the rare metal tantalum, a key component in the production of smartphones, computers and aircraft engines.
The country produced about 40 percent of the world’s coltan in 2023, according to the US Geological Survey, with Australia, Canada and Brazil being other big suppliers. More than 15 percent of the world’s supply of tantalum comes from Rubaya’s mines.
In May 2024, M23 seized the town and took control of its mines. According to a UN report, since seizing Rubaya, the rebels have imposed taxes on the trade and transport of coltan, generating at least $800,000 a month.
Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Various conflicts have created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including more than 300,000 who have fled their homes since December.
In June, the Congolese and Rwandan government signed a peace deal brokered by the US and negotiations continue between rebels and Congo. However, fighting continues on several fronts in eastern Congo, continuing to claim numerous civilian and military casualties.
The deal between Congo and Rwanda also opens up access to critical minerals for the US government and American companies.
A similar collapse last month killed more than 200 people.
