INS Sindhurakshak: Navy divers enter vessel

           Indian navy divers have entered a stricken submarine which exploded and sank on Wednesday in Mumbai but have detected no signs of life from the 18 crewmen on board, the navy said. 

               Asked if there had been any communication with survivors, chief of naval staff DK Joshi told a press conference, "Of course not. I would have said so if we had." 
After inspecting the Western Naval Dockyard, Defense Minister AK Antony said that the accident was a 'shocking tragedy'. 
Antony also stated that the board of inquiry has been ordered. 


              Antony on Wednesday condoled the death of naval personnel on the submarine that exploded and sank in the naval dockyard in Mumbai.

          He briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the mishap before leaving for Mumbai where the incident took place.

                 "I have briefed the Prime Minister on the fire...I am just now going to Mumbai to see and get the details there," Antony told reporters outside Parliament House.

            He said he was saddened at the tragedy of this magnitude which has happened in recent times.



                "I also feel sad about those Navy personnel who lost their lives in the service of the country," he said without giving details

                  It is feared that 18 personnel on board have died. Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi, who briefed Antony on the mishap, is already in Mumbai.

             Navy sources, meanwhile, said here that the explosion took place in the forward section of the Kilo class INS Sindhurakshak submarine which houses torpedoes and missiles.

            The Navy has ordered a board of inquiry to probe the explosion and subsequent fire on board the submarine.

       Due to the explosion, the submarine has submerged at the dock with only a portion visible above the surface, a defence statement said.

AGEING FLEET

India's navy has had far fewer accidents than the air force, dogged for years by crashes of Russian-made MiG-21 fighters.

However, the country's fleet of 14 submarines is in urgent need of modernisation and has been hampered by delays in government decisions as it battles corruption allegations.

Efforts to build a domestic arms industry to supply the military have made slow progress, with the country still the world's largest importer.

Earlier this week a locally built aircraft carrier slipped into the sea, though it is not due for completion until 2017. The navy also announced that the reactor on its first indigenous nuclear submarine was now operational as part of a plan to build a powerful navy to counter China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean.

INS Sindhurakshak completed a 2-1/2 year upgrade at a Russian shipyard a few months ago.

The vessel, which was fully operational with weapons on board, was half-submerged after the fire. A team of navy divers was mobilised to search for survivors and 16 fire tenders were brought in to put out the blaze, local media said.

"There was a loud explosion post midnight and I woke up," said Dharmendra Jaiswal, who manages a public toilet opposite the naval dockyard. "I could see the skyline was bright and I could make out that some fire or blast had occurred inside."

Three people who were near the submarine at the time of the explosion were injured and being treated in hospital, spokesperson Satish said.