Iranian warship capsizes & sinks killing at least 2 people as 2,500-ton, 315ft vessel goes down while undergoing repairs
AN IRANIAN warship weighing 2,500 tons capsized in port on Sunday, killing two members of the navy.
The Sahand destroyer was being repaired when it flooded, with dramatic pics showing it completely upturned in the bay.
The enormous 315 foot vessel was being fixed on the coast of Bandar Abbas today, a city in southern Iran.
It toppled onto its side and within minutes only its side was visible above the surface.
Iranian news agency Tasnim News said: “As Sahand was being repaired at the wharf, it lost its balance due to water ingress.
“Fortunately…the vessel is being returned to balance quickly.”
Reports of two Navy members dying during the mishap, in state media, have yet to be officially confirmed.
The Sahand is part of Iran’s Southern Fleet, named after a volcano.
It hit controversy in 2021 when the US campaigned heavily to prevent it from docking anywhere in the Western Hemisphere.
The vessel was thought to be carrying out a possible arms transfer on its way to Venezuela.
Eventually it changed course and headed instead for the West coast of Africa.
It was being readied for an anti-piracy mission in the Indian Ocean when it took on water while docked in the bay.
The Sahand was recently wheeled out amid ongoing attacks by Iranian-backed proxy group the Houthis in the Red Sea.
As the terror group attacked Israeli and Western ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden – the Sahand led a small fleet of Iranian ships in the area.
The Sahand is 12 years old, making it one of the more modern in Iran’s navy.
Initial reports suggested the capsizing was due to a “technical failure”.