Mumbai: Just a day before Independence Day celebration, Indian Navy had to face a major setback, an explosion triggered a massive fire in one of its submarines off the coast of Mumbai in the early hours of Wednesday, with at least 18 sailors feared trapped inside the gutted vessel.
Indian Navys INS Sindhurakshak submarine berthed at the Mumbai Naval Dockyard blasted at around 12 p.m. in the midnight, and soon it was on major fire.
The internal explosion occurred a little after midnight yesterday and the fire it caused was brought under control at about 3 am by 16 fire tenders from the naval dockyard and the Mumbai fire brigade. The 16-year-old vessel has “submerged at her berth with only a portion visible above the surface,” a Navy statement said.
It also said that “efforts are on to ascertain the safety of the personnel and salvage of the submarine,” the statement said. There is no word yet on casualties.
The injured people are already sent to Indian Navys Asvini hospital for treatment, according to the report.
A high level probe has been ordered into the incident, sources said.