16.8.13

INS Sindhurakshak explodes


The Indian Navy suffered a major setback—its worst peacetime disaster—as a series of explosions on a submarine berthed at the naval dockyard in Mumbai left the vessel crippled, with the 18 sailors on board feared dead.
The fully armed INS Sindhurakshak suffered a small explosion shortly after midnight, followed by two almost simultaneous blasts, which produced a fire that spread
across the 16-year-old sub. The explosions, suspected to be in the torpedo compartment, hurled a ball of fire into the sky above the naval dockyard that could be seen from afar.
INS Sindhurakshak had returned to the country in April this year from Russia after 2.5 years of overhaul and refit that was ordered after a blast aboard it killed a sailor while its batteries were being charged.
The Russian-made submarine’s partial sinking on Wednesday comes close on the heels of the navy grabbing global attention for its growing capabilities and ambitions. In the last few days, its indigenous nuclear submarine’s reactor has gone critical and its first indigenous aircraft carrier launched.
Defence minister A K Antony, who rushed to Mumbai in the afternoon, described the accident as a “tragedy”. Chief of naval staff Admiral D K Joshi conceded that “a dent” had been left in “Indian Navy’s submarine capabilities for the time being”.
Admiral Joshi said only the submarine’s duty watch, comprising three officers and 15 sailors, was on board at the time of the disaster. The sub took in water from the torpedo compartment, where the ordnance exploded, and during the two-hour-long firefighting operation. It initially tilted forward and then came to rest in three metres of water. Just a part of its conning tower is visible above the water now.
Navy divers entered the stricken vessel through the main hatch but detected no signs of life on board. The divers will be pumping out the water to try to float the sub to surface.
“Chances of survivors seem unlikely as the submarine has been submerged for 12 hours. We fear the worst, but hope for the best,” said Admiral Joshi. Antony added: “I am saddened at the loss of life of naval personnel in the service of the country.”
Naval authorities have contacted the families of the personnel and requested them to come to Mumbai at the earliest. Admiral Joshi said two of the officers and six of the sailors were married.
According to navy sources, three personnel were on board, but not inside, the vessel at the time of the tragedy. They jumped to safety, were admitted to hospital with minor injuries and later discharged. The sources added that another submarine, INS Sindhughosh, was docked close to INS Sindhurakshak and suffered minor damage from the explosions.
The submarine had suffered two accidents in 2010, at least one of which had killed a sailor and injured two others. The 2010 explosion was caused by rising hydrogen levels while its batteries were being recharged.
The Russian shipyard which upgraded INS Sindhudarshak said it had installed advanced weaponry, both Indian and foreign systems, to enhance the submarine’s “combat capability and safe operation”. Zvyozdochka, part of the Unified Shipbuilding Corporation that specialises in repairs and recycling of nuclear submarines, said it had signed a contract with the Indian Defence Ministry in 2010 to carry out maintenance and upgrade the submarine. The craft arrived there in August. It sailed to Mumbai in January 2013. The Severodvinsk-based shipyard said a modern Klub-S missile system was installed together with more than 10 Indian and foreign systems.

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