19 sailors dead as Iran warship hit by ‘friendly fire’ at sea

TEHRAN: An Iranian warship was hit by a friendly fire missile during naval exercises, killing 19 sailors, state media and the army said on Monday, amid rising tensions Gulf waters.

The incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask, off the southern coast of Iran, state television’s website said. “The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target,” said the channel.

Nineteen crewmen were killed and 15 injured in an “accident” during the exercises, the armed forces said, without elaborating or providing further details over the incident.

The vessel had been towed ashore for “technical investigations”, it said in a statement, calling on people to “avoid speculation” until further information is released.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency said in an English-language tweet that the Konarak was hit by the missile fired by another Iranian warship. The vessel had been hit by “friendly fire after Moudge-class frigate ‘Jamaran’ accidentally shot (it) with a missile during live firing exercise in Jask area of  Persian Gulf waters,” it said.

The 15 injured were hospitalised in Sistan and Baluchistan, Mohammad-Mehran Aminifard, head of the province’s medical university told media, while two of the sailors were in intensive care.

Iran’s army chief and foreign minister offered their condolences to the sailors’ families in separate statements.

The Konarak is a logistical support vessel made in the Netherlands and purchased by Iran before the 1979 Islamic revolution. The Hendijan-class vessel is equipped with four cruise missiles. It was not immediately clear how many crew members had been on board the warship at the time of the accident.

Iran and the United States have traded barbs in the past year over a spate of incidents involving their forces in the sensitive Gulf waters. The latest high-seas confrontation came on April 15, when Iranian boats stopped US navy ships in the waterway.

The friendly-fire incident occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a third of the world’s seaborne oil. The escalation of Iran-US tensions last year saw ships mysteriously attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized in the region.