IRNA – Iran consul general in Shanghai said on Thursday that the DNA tests taken from the bodies of the Iranian sailors killed in the Sanchi oil tanker inferno earlier this month have been sent to Tehran two days ago.


The results of the DNA tests are to be compared with those from the families of the victims in Tehran, Alireza Irvash told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Sanchi, the Iranian oil tanker carrying over 136,000 tons of gas condensates collided with a Chinese freight ship in East China coast on January 6 and exploded. Bodies of only three out of 32 members of the crew have been found before the tanker sank on January 14.

'If the tests show that the bodies belong to the three Iranian sailors, the documents of their identities will be dispatched to China in order to transfer the bodies to Iran,' Irvash said.

The black box of the Iranian sunken oil tanker was opened on Wednesday (Jan 24) in the presence of representatives from the involved countries.

Sending a message of condolences to the families of the victims as well as the Iranian nation on January 14, Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization confirmed the death of all 32 sailors, 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, who were trapped in the burning tanker in East China coast.

According to reports, the Iranian sailors were killed due to inhaling toxic gas and the huge fire, which occurred from the outset of the collision and hindered rescue operation.