Indian Navy divers on Saturday successfully gained access to the middle part of INS Sindhurakshak by opening the rear escape hatch that was submerged under water. However, no body was found even on the fourth day of rescue operations. Heavy ingress of water and high temperatures generated due to the blast had jammed the hatch, which finally gave way after dogged attempts by rescuers. The families of the 18 sailors were also taken to the site of the accident at Mumbai naval dock.
Additionally, doctors at JJ Hospital who conducted the post-mortem on the five dead sailors said that burning, asphyxiation and drowning led to the death of the five sailors. The exact timing of the deaths will be determined at a later stage. Dental marks have also been taken which will be sent to the Kalina FSL for DNA analysis. Doctors also took an X-ray of the bones to look for shrapnel injuries, but found none.
On Friday, five bodies were found in the upper sections of the submarine below the conning tower. Thirteen of the crewmembers, however, still remain missing. “Three were found in the control room and two were found in the third section. The divers are now attempting to work their way into the aft section. The visibility is close to nil and divers have to feel their way through the submarine,” said a source from the Indian Navy.
“Chances of finding any bodies in the living quarters are slim, since the crew was preparing to set sail on a mission. The missiles being loaded at the time of the accident are a proof of this fact,” said a retired Navy officer, who had served on one of India’s Shishumar-class submarines. These are German-made HDW vessels while the Sindhurakshak belongs to the Russian origin Kilo submarines.
Experts in maritime warfare pointed out that the rescue would have been easier had the submarine been taken out of the water and berthed in a shipyard. Normally, the vessel is lifted from the water and put on special carrier boats that have deep and flat platforms, occupying the middle and front sections. The submarine is then berthed in a “dry dock” used for building and repairing ships. “This could have saved efforts of wading through water inside the submarine. Even some of the inspection work could have already begun. However, no Navy in the world possesses such wherewithal, and the job is usually outsourced to professional salvage firms,” said a former Navyofficer.
In a related development, upon insistence by the families, they were taken to the accident site where the rescue was underway. Blood and other samples of the relatives will now be taken to identify the five bodies through DNA profiling, being done at the JJ Hospital.