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19 sailors dead after Iran accidentally fires missile on own ship

Iranian state media report 19 sailors are dead and 15 wounded after a friendly fire incident in the Gulf of Oman.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - FEBRUARY 27: Iranian navy stand on the Kharg ship at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 27, 2020. The Kharg ship visit is part of 70th diplomatic relationship Islamic Republic of Iran-Republic of Indonesia. Kharg starts the journey from Abbas harbour in Iran, carries 300 Iranian navy student who will do sport activity together with the Indonesian navy during docked in Jakarta 25-28 February. (Photo by Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Iranian navy stand on the Kharg ship at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia on Feb. 27, 2020. — Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

At least 19 Iranian sailors are dead and 15 injured after an accidental missile firing during a planned naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, Iran’s state-run news agency reports.

The Iranian press said the Hendijan-class Konarak was struck on Sunday afternoon during a drill near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways. 

According to state TV, an Iranian navy frigate accidentally fired at the support ship near the port of Jask, killing 19 people. Other early reports put the death toll near 40. 

“Naval relief and rescue teams reached the location shortly after the incident, retrieving the injured and the martyrs from the vessel and transferring them to medical centers,” read a navy statement carried by state TV.  

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