Divers search for survivors of India submarine explosion

Divers were desperately trying to pry open the hatches of an Indian submarine in which several sailors died or were trapped after an explosion and fire today in the navy’s worst loss since the 1971 war with Pakistan.

Eighteen sailors were aboard the Russian-built INS Sindhurakshak when the blast struck after midnight. The incident soured a week of naval milestones, including the launch of a locally built aircraft carrier aimed at giving the navy heft as it competes with China in the Indian Ocean.

Defence minister A.K. Antony said crew members inside the diesel-electric Kilo-class submarine berthed at the main base in Mumbai had died. But he gave no details, more than 12 hours after the incident, which revived memories of explosions on the Russian nuclear-attack submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea in 2000. Its entire crew of 118 died.

“There was an explosion immediately after midnight in the forward side of the submarine, where missiles and torpedoes are kept to be used whenever necessary,” a naval source said. “Now the submarine is tilted on the front side and all hatches are closed. They are trying to open those now.”

He said one or two men are usually on duty on top of the submarine and they either jumped into the water or were thrown off by the force of the explosion. The number of crew in the boat when fully operational is 110.

Navy spokesman P.V.S. Satish earlier said efforts were under way to rescue trapped crew members. “We will not give up until we get to them,” he said. Photographs distributed by social media users appeared to show a large fireball over the navy dock.

The INS Sindhurakshak, which returned from an upgrade in Russia earlier this year, had suffered a similar accident in 2010 in which one sailor was killed while it was docked in the southern port of Visakhapatnam.

Another submarine in the Mumbai dock where these vessels are usually tied to each other suffered minor damage, the naval source said. The last big loss for the navy was the sinking of the INS Khukri by a Pakistani navy torpedo during the 1971 war.

Reuters