IRNA � The operation to find the bodies of the sailors of the sunken Iranian oil tanker is going on in the depth of 115 meters (380 ft.), said the managing director of National Iranian Tanker Company on Wednesday.


'The explosions of flames were so strong that the oil tanker was totally deformed; however, the search operation is still going on and the scuba divers are trying to find the bodies of the crew any way they can,' said Sirus Kian Ersi.

Ersi said that the black box of the ship is available to the four beneficiary countries and the party guilty of the accident cannot be determined until the black box data is examined, which may take three months.

Bodies of three soldiers that where found near the ship were flown to Tehran and their funeral procession will be held on Friday.

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, two of whom were Bangladeshi, have been found before the tanker sank on January 14.

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.