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The midnight tragedy that struck Russian made naval submarine INS Sindhurakshak has likely claimed 18 lives besides putting the submarine fleet of the navy under scanner. The fate of the 18 sailors remained uncertain as near-dark conditions within the submarine made the rescue operation a long-drawn-out process.
The exact cause of explosion was not known but prima facie evidence suggests there was first a small explosion in the torpedo chamber. This might have triggered the second explosion, which may have been magnified because of ammunition in the torpedo chamber.
The manual and automatic safety mechanisms generally deployed in the event of a disaster failed to function.
Three men, who were on the top of the boat when the accident occurred, escaped with minor injuries.
Naval Chief D.K.Joshi has said that as it was off-duty hours, only the submarine’s off-duty crew was on board. The full crew strength of INS Sindhurakshak is 58.
The explosion also caused flooding in the vessel’s front chamber. That and attempts to douse the fire with water caused the front end of the ship to dip into the sea-bed, at a depth of three metres.
Subsequently, the entire vessel was submerged and is lying on the sea-bed. Only the top of the vessel is visible.
D.K.Joshi said search operations have begun as divers have been able to get into the sub by opening the only accessible hatch on top of the vessel.
“The divers will go inside and attempt to create two-three water-tight compartments. With that, we will commence de-watering and pumping out activity. Once we succeed in pumping out the water, the boat will become lighter and float to the surface,” he said. Only then can the real extent of damage be ascertained, the naval chief added.
ANI adds : Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who visited the naval dockyard in Mumbai along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and the Navy Chief, said the Navy has ordered a board of inquiry to look into details of the incident.“I came here to express the nation’s solidarity with and condolence to the Navy. It’s a shocking tragedy. The Navy has ordered a board of inquiry that will go into all details about the incident,” Antony told media here.
>satyanarayan.iyer@thehindu.co.in
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