Press TV - As many as 19 people have been martyred and 15 others injured in an incident involving the Iranian Navy�s Konarak logistical vessel in the country�s southern waters.

The incident happened on Sunday as a number of Navy�vessels were conducting an exercise near the waters lying close to Jask and Chabahar ports that respectively belong to neighboring provinces of Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchestan, the Navy�s Public Relations� Department said in a statement on Monday.

The statement noted that the injured are currently in stable�condition.

�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,� the statement noted.

�Exemplary courage�

�The forces stationed on the vessel displayed exemplary courage in their endeavor to rescue their fellow servicemen,� the Navy said.

After the incident, the casualties were�dispatched to the Haft-e Tir Pier in Chabahar, and transferred to the city�s Imam Ali (PBUH) Hospital via ten ambulances.

An informed military source, meanwhile, dismissed reports that the vessel had been totally destroyed in the incident, saying it had been�towed to the shore�afterwards.

The Navy statement confirmed that Konarak had been transferred to a local pier for technical examination.