Iranian blue-on-blue naval incident leaves 19 dead
A friendly fire incident on 10 May involving two Iranian Navy vessels in the Gulf of Oman has left at least 19 sailors dead and 15 injured, according to state-run Iranian news agency IRNA.
Other news sources report that the Iranian Navy support ship Konarak was apparently hit by an anti-ship missile that was test-fired by the frigate Jamaran.
Iranian authorities have not confirmed how exactly the damage was inflicted, but the Iranian Navy is known to have previously purchased C-802 and C-201 anti-ship missiles from China.
An investigation has begun into the incident near the Iranian port of Jask but as yet there is no official confirmation of the extent of the damage to the ship. However, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB showed footage of extensive damage to the superstructure.
The injured sailors were taken to the Iranshahr University of Medical Sciences and Health Services hospital.
Konarak is a Hendijan-class support frigate which was manufactured in the Netherlands and bought by Iran before to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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