Hope fades for 18 on submarine after blasts, fire

MUMBAI: India’s navy chief held out little hope for survivors on a submarine after some of its weapons detonated accidentally and fire swept through it.

Eighteen sailors were on board the 16-year-old Russian-built INS Sindhurakshak, which was docked at the main naval base in Mumbai when two blasts rocked the vessel on Tuesday night.

The accident spoilt a week of modernisation triumphs for the navy, which included the launch of an Indian-built aircraft carrier aimed at giving the country the edge at sea as it competes with China in the Indian Ocean.

Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi said divers had prised open the main hatch of the diesel-powered submarine more than 12 hours after the accident, and were trying to find their way through the vessel.

“While we hope for the best, we are prepared for the worst,” he ssaid.

“There is a possibility, however remote it could be, of an air pocket. There is a possibility, however remote it might be, of someone having grabbed a breathing set.”

The INS Sindhurakshak

A lot of things are in close proximity. There is fuel, there is hydrogen, there is oxygen, there are weapons with high explosives on board.

returned from an upgrade in Russia this year.

In 2010, a sailor died in an accident that occurred on the submarine while it was docked in the southern port of Visakhapatnam.

Typically, such a submarine is fitted with torpedoes and missiles.

“Just short of midnight, there were two rapid and near-simultaneous major explosions on board the submarine that resulted in a major and rapid spread of fire,” Joshi said.

“It is some of the ordnance on board that seems to have exploded.”

A navy source said one or two men were usually on duty on top of a berthed submarine.

Those stationed on the Sindhurakshak had jumped into the water or had been thrown off by the force of the blast.

“A lot of things are in close proximity. There is fuel, there is hydrogen, there is oxygen, there are weapons with high explosives on board, so a slightest mistake or slightest accident can trigger off a huge accident,” said retired navy chief Arun Prakash.

Another submarine in the Mumbai harbour, where vessels are tied to each other, received minor damage.

India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier will not be fully operational until 2017.

The navy also announced this week that the reactor on its first indigenous nuclear submarine was operational.

India plans to build a powerful navy to counter China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean.