Sri Lanka, March 4 -- UPDATE: The Sri Lanka Navy says 35 individuals have been rescued from an Iranian vessel in distress off Sri Lanka's southern seas.

The Ministry of Defence stated that arrangements have been made to transport those affected to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle.

Additionally, the Sri Lanka Air Force has deployed an aircraft to the area of the incident to assist with search operations.

Meanwhile, speaking in Parliament today (04), Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath noted that the vessel was not in Sri Lankan territorial waters when the accident occurred.

The Minister also confirmed that, based on the distress call received by the Navy indicating the vessel was sinking, rescue operations were immediat...