Huge fireball lights up Mumbai dockyard after Russian-built INS Sindhurakshak reportedly ignites two warheads
A Russian-built submarine of the Indian navy has exploded in Mumbai harbour, with 18 sailors believed to be trapped inside.
Several other crew members are reported to have escaped by jumping off the submarine when it blew up on Tuesday night, sparking a huge fire. Several injured navy personnel were being treated in a naval hospital.
"Naval divers are trying to rescue the sailors still inside the semi-submerged submarine," said naval spokesman PVS Satish. "We will not give up until we find them."
The explosion in the Russian Kilo class INS Sindhurakshak submarine may have ignited two warheads and damaged other vessels in the naval dockyard.
The diesel-electric submarine, built in St Petersburg in 1997, had undergone a two-year upgrade in Russia after a battery on board exploded in April 2010.
Capable of firing cruise missiles at a range of 200km (125 miles), it had been reintroduced into the Indian navy only in April.
The explosion on Tuesday night is believed to be an accident, and investigations are likely to focus on the same cause as in 2010 – a defective battery.
Social media film of the explosion, repeatedly aired on Indian TV networks, showed a huge ball of fire lighting up the naval dockyard in Mumbai.
Besides navy firefighting units, 16 fire engines from the Mumbai Fire Brigade battled the inferno, which was brought under control around 3am.
According to TV news reports, the fire ignited two warheads on board the INS Sindhurakshak, and the deadly missiles hit another submarine and a naval vessel. The damage to the second submarine was minor, the reports suggested.
"It's a major setback, as out of around 14 submarines, the Indian navy only has a few operational subs available," said Srinjoy Chowdhury, defence correspondent of Times Now. "The INS Sindhurrakshak was one of them."
The Indian navy has been celebrating two breakthroughs in the past week in its quest to emerge as a "blue-water navy", capable of operating across vast stretches of ocean.
Its first home-built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, was launched on Monday, though it will not be battle-ready until 2020. And on 10 August the reactor in India's first indigenously built nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, went critical.
The nuclear-powered submarine is due to begin sea trials before it is made fully operational. The navy already has on lease a Russian-built nuclear submarine, the INS Chakra. But the Chakra cannot be armed with nuclear-tipped missiles due to international non-proliferation treaties. Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.
A Russian-built submarine of the Indian navy has exploded in Mumbai harbour, with 18 sailors believed to be trapped inside.
Several other crew members are reported to have escaped by jumping off the submarine when it blew up on Tuesday night, sparking a huge fire. Several injured navy personnel were being treated in a naval hospital.
"Naval divers are trying to rescue the sailors still inside the semi-submerged submarine," said naval spokesman PVS Satish. "We will not give up until we find them."
The explosion in the Russian Kilo class INS Sindhurakshak submarine may have ignited two warheads and damaged other vessels in the naval dockyard.
The diesel-electric submarine, built in St Petersburg in 1997, had undergone a two-year upgrade in Russia after a battery on board exploded in April 2010.
Capable of firing cruise missiles at a range of 200km (125 miles), it had been reintroduced into the Indian navy only in April.
The explosion on Tuesday night is believed to be an accident, and investigations are likely to focus on the same cause as in 2010 – a defective battery.
Social media film of the explosion, repeatedly aired on Indian TV networks, showed a huge ball of fire lighting up the naval dockyard in Mumbai.
Besides navy firefighting units, 16 fire engines from the Mumbai Fire Brigade battled the inferno, which was brought under control around 3am.
According to TV news reports, the fire ignited two warheads on board the INS Sindhurakshak, and the deadly missiles hit another submarine and a naval vessel. The damage to the second submarine was minor, the reports suggested.
"It's a major setback, as out of around 14 submarines, the Indian navy only has a few operational subs available," said Srinjoy Chowdhury, defence correspondent of Times Now. "The INS Sindhurrakshak was one of them."
The Indian navy has been celebrating two breakthroughs in the past week in its quest to emerge as a "blue-water navy", capable of operating across vast stretches of ocean.
Its first home-built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, was launched on Monday, though it will not be battle-ready until 2020. And on 10 August the reactor in India's first indigenously built nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, went critical.
The nuclear-powered submarine is due to begin sea trials before it is made fully operational. The navy already has on lease a Russian-built nuclear submarine, the INS Chakra. But the Chakra cannot be armed with nuclear-tipped missiles due to international non-proliferation treaties. Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.