Six of the 11 bodies that were extricated from INS Sindhurakshak — a Kilo-class submarine that sank at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai after two blasts ripped through its hull on August 13, have been handed over to the Navy after being identified through DNA testing.
Since the day of the incident, the bodies have been at the JJ Hospital morgue in Byculla, as the DNA identification was pending. “We received the last body on Sunday. We have handed over six bodies which have been identified after DNA examination,” said Dr T.P. Lahane, dean of JJ Hospital.
Of the six personnel whose bodies have been identified, the bodies of four were scheduled to be returned to their families at Mumbai on Friday. The six naval personnel, whose bodies have been identified, are Rajesh Tootika, Kewal Singh, Vishnu V., Seetaram Badapalli, Liju Lawrence, and Malay Haldar. The Navy had earlier said that
the bodies of personnel in the front portions of the submarine would have been “incinerated” by the sheer heat generated by the explosion.
Five bodies still remain unidentified so far, while the bodies of seven other personnel have not yet been found. “All the bodies were severely burnt. Few of the bodies that we received had only bones remains,” said a doctor from the hospital. Doctors at JJ Hospital’s forensic department had
collected tooth and bone samples for DNA identification, which have been sent to the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory.
A Russian shipyard sent back INS Sindhurakshak in January after a `480-crore overhaul meant to increase the submarine’s life by 15 years.