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 as it the fourth day of rescue operations. Doctors who conducted the post-mortem on the five dead sailors meanwhile said that burning, asphyxiation and drowning led to death of the five sailors. The exact timing of the deaths will be determined at a later stage.
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.
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.
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Safety breach likely cause: Russia dy-PM
New Delhi, Aug. 17: Violation of safety regulations could be the most likely cause of the explosions on submarine Sindhurakshak because of which it sank, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has said.
Mr Rogozin, who was quoted by Russia’s official news agency Itar Tass, has said India had raised no questions over the technical aspects of the submarine built and recently overhauled by Russia.
Quoting experts, he told the news agency that the violation of safety regulations was the most probable cause of the accident on Wednesday. He, however, qualified his comments, saying that assessment of what really happened are still being made to determine the exact reason behind the tragedy in which 18 Navy officials are feared dead. “But things are still to be assessed in full... At the moment we are not blaming the equipment,” Mr Rogozin said. “The very first information that I received at night, several hours after that accident was that the blast had occurred in the batteries were being charged,” he said. — PTI