The surviving sailor of Iranian warship IRIS Dena has described the terrifying US strike that sank his warship last month, killing 104 crew members, in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka. The injured sailor, identified as Hamed Momeneh, claimed that intention of the Americans was to "kill the crew", adding that there was no warning before the attack.
"It was around 3:00 to 3:30 a.m. when we were suddenly attacked—an attack that was completely against international maritime laws. It was not a war zone, and we had received no warning. The attack was carried out without warning by a submarine. When the first torpedo hit, all personnel were at their posts, and fortunately at that moment we had no casualties. There were 104 crew members on board, and no one left the ship. Everyone stood their ground until the end," the sailor told Tasnim news and was quoted saying by Iranian embassy.
"If their aim had only been to damage the ship, they could have targeted other parts, but the main goal was to kill the crew. Even so, we stood firm to the end. For us, the Dena was like the soil of Iran, and leaving it had no meaning. The forces remained with the vessel until 11 pm, after which they were forced to swim for some distance in the ocean to reach areas near the coast of Sri Lanka," he added.
The IRIS Dena was struck by a US submarine-launched MK-48 torpedo on March 4, about 40 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s coast near Galle.
It was sailing in international waters after taking part in India’s multinational naval exercise MILAN. In the incident, 104 crew members were killed; 87 bodies were recovered and 32 sailors were rescued.
