One huge explosion as well as fire over one Indian submarine that was berthed at Mumbai dockyard killed some crew members, according to defense minister of India.
AK Antony didn’t give any further details though said that he was sad about the ones whose lives were lost. Earlier, navy said that eighteen sailors were trapped on the board.Blast on INS Sindhurakshak occurred after midnight. The fire-fighters took 4 hours in putting out that blaze.
The officials said this vessel, powered by diesel, appeared to be badly damaged.It’s not clear whether Mr Antony tend to be referring toward deaths among sailors who were still trapped within submarine. A navy official said that surviving one explosion of the huge scale happened to be rare.
A lot of sailors were able to jump towards safety after this blast. The divers still are at scene and trying to look out for the survivors. Some injured were rushed to the hospital. This submarine still is partly submerged over its berth.
Footage of dramatic images did show one big fireball lightening the sky. Smoke due to the blaze can be seen within many areas of city.
One naval inquiry is set up for look into causes of this incident, though the officials told they do suspect that it’s result of one error on-board and not any act that involves any agency from outside.
The authorities also said that there’s no fear regarding any more explosions.
This submarine that’s built in Russia got recently upgraded with the cost of £52m or $80m. It is said that it was loaded with the ammunition fully at time the explosion occurred.
Zvyozdochka, the Russian firm that refitted this submarine, told that the vessel was fully operational at the time it was given back in January to India. The reports that are from Russia show that specialists are all ready to assist with aftermath.
AK Antony, the Indian Defence Minister, before departing for his visit of the site at Mumbai, said,
“It’s a great loss to us… it’s the greatest tragedy of recent times.”
Earlier, navy spokesman of India, Satish told that eighteen people were thought still to be on the board, trapped, and also they happened to be in process of attempting to have them rescued.
Submarine’s front portion is badly damaged, according to Commander Satish.
INS Sindhurakshak, that’s powered by electricity and diesel, happens to be one of ten submarines of Kilo-class taken from Russia during the years 1986 -2000. It’s equipped with the Club-S systems of cruise missile of Russia.
This submarine was then sent on the way to Russia for refit during 2010 when one sailor on the board got killed by fire which started in battery compartment as submarine happened to be docked at naval base in Vishakhapatnam that year in February.
The explosion this Wednesday comes only days after the navy of India launched its 1st aircraft carrier home-built, hailed by the officials of defense as “crowning glory”.
The previous year, India did buy one nuclear Nerpa submarine of Russia for the navy on ten-year lease taken from Russia with cost of around $1bn, making it the part of one nation’s select group for operating the submarines that are nuclear-powered.
Russia and India are allies from a long time and Russia also supplies around seventy percent of the military hardware of India.