The Navy said that its divers have recovered the bodies of two more sailors from the submarine INS Sindhurakshak.

Till Friday evening, the Navy had recovered three bodies out of the 18 sailors who were trapped inside the submarine when two near simultaneous explosions rocked it at about midnight on August 14 (Wednesday).

The divers could open one more hatch — the rear escape hatch — which was jammed due to high temperature.

“(The divers) gained a second access to the submarine late last night when they successfully prised open the rear escape hatch which was submerged below water and jammed due to high temperatures,” the Navy said in a release, which was shared with the media post noon today.

Opening of the jammed forward escape hatch is also being attempted for an entry into the front portion of the submarine, it said.

The team of salvers have also begun a preliminary survey of the submarine.

>satyanarayan.iyer@thehindu.co.in