COLOMBO: Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from an Iranian vessel to shore Friday after the ship sought assistance while anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a US submarine. Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said 204 sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were brought to the Welisara Naval Base near the capital, Colombo. They underwent border control procedures and medical tests, but none were found to have health issues.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka sent ships and aircraft to rescue 30 Iranian sailors aboard the Iranian frigate Iris Dena which was sinking Wednesday just ouside the island’s territorial…

Sources in Sri Lanka's defense ministry said the vessel was hit by a submarine, but a navy spokesperson rejected any reports on the cause of the ship sinking.