Divers yet to get near trapped 18
Divers from the Indian Navy are yet to reach the 18 sailors, including three officers, trapped on board INS Sindhurakshak till late Thursday evening. A Navy statement said heavy flooding inside the submarine and poor visibility due to muddy waters in Mumbai harbour was impeding rescue work.
While the Navy has already ordered an inquiry, it said the top priority was to rescue any possible survivors.
“There are extremely restricted spaces... The heat of the explosion melted parts of the internal hull, deforming the submarine hatches and preventing access,” a defence spokesman said. The submarine has partially sunk, with only a part of its bridge visible above water.
While the cause of the explosions remains unclear, it is suspected the Klub-S (3M-14E) cruise missile that the submarine was redesigned to fire might be to blame.
“Something might have gone wrong when the missiles were being loaded into the torpedo tubes in the front part of the submarine,” said a former submariner.
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