The Iranian army announced today, Wednesday, the sinking of a warship near the port of Jask in Hormozgan province, after a fire broke out onboard last night, Tuesday. In a statement, the second naval region of the Iranian Navy in Jask stated, "The 'Khark' ship sank this morning in Jask port after all attempts to extinguish the fire and save it failed." They added, "All crew members were rescued, but the fire extinguishing and rescue efforts that lasted 20 hours were unsuccessful, despite the use of all available resources and maritime relief facilities." They noted that the military ship Khark had been employed in training missions for over 4 decades.
The "Khark" is the largest logistics support ship of the Iranian army, purchased by Tehran from Britain in 1977 and received in 1984 when Iran was engaged in a war with Iraq. The Iranian army announced early this morning that a large fire broke out on the ship and that all its military crew were evacuated, with no injuries reported and without disclosing the cause of the fire. Last year, another Iranian warship was hit by a missile during a drill in an accidental incident that resulted in the death of 19 sailors and injured 15 others. The incident occurred during training in the Gulf of Oman, a sensitive waterway connected to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes.
