Iran plane leaves India with sailors, bodies as Indian ships win Hormuz reprieve

Iranian warship IRIS Dena was sunk by a torpedo from a US submarine on March 4. Read more at straitstimes.com.

NEW DELHI/COLOMBO - A chartered plane arranged by Iran departed southern India late on March 13 carrying some sailors from a naval vessel that had docked in the country, as well as the bodies of crew members killed in a US attack off Sri Lanka, two sources told Reuters.

The sailor movements come as the US-Israeli war on Iran has rattled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy supplies and roughly 40 per cent of India’s crude imports.

After days of uncertainty following Iranian attacks on ships, Tehran on March 13 confirmed that Indian vessels would be allowed to pass through the strait, offering relief to New Delhi as it seeks to avoid a broader energy crunch.

The aircraft had earlier taken off from Sri Lanka carrying the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a US submarine attack on a warship off the island’s coast last week, an Indian official with direct knowledge of the matter said.

It then landed in the neighbouring southern Indian city of Kochi before departing with sailors from another Iranian vessel and some Iranian tourists stranded in India, the official added.

An Iranian source confirmed the plane had taken off from Kochi but declined to confirm its destination or other details for security reasons.