The 25-odd divers carrying out rescue operation on the INS Sindhurakshak had completed searching five of the six flooded compartments of the submarine, but there was no sign on the remaining 12 Navy personnel. On Tuesday night, the submarine faced a catastrophe with 18 personnel on board, six of whom were found charred to death.
The divers who have been working in shifts round-the-clock finally located and brought up the body of the sixth crew member late on Saturday night.
With only one compartment to go till Sunday evening, the divers were unable to even get body parts of any of the personnel, said an official. A forensic doctor who conducted an autopsy said, “The bodies are charred beyond recognition. I have conducted autopsies on bodies from air crashes and bomb blast cases in the past, but never have seen bodies in such a condition.” No trinkets or jewellery was found on them, which would help to ascertain the identity.
The Indian Navy has taken samples from the bodies of the six crew members and have been sent to Central Forensic Laboratory (CFL), Kalina, for DNA finger-printing. Samples have also been obtained from blood relatives of personnel and the report is expected to take a week’s time.
The assessment of the damage and state of the hull in this portion of the submarine will now continue through repeated entries by divers.
Meanwhile, individuals representing firms from different foreign salvage companies are visiting the spot to see if they can carry out the salvage operation simultaneously, while the rescue operation is underway to locate rest of the sailors. The Navy Family Support Cell in Mumbai has remained in continuous contact to provide the necessary succour and emotional support to members of the families at this hour of grief.
Representatives of the 18-crew members have been accommodated in Naval premises at Mumbai and are being provided periodic updates on the progress of search. The Naval Command in Visakhapatnam has also established a similar family support cell to interact with family members of the crew who could not travel to Mumbai.