New Delhi: The fire mishap on INS
Sindhurakshak in Visakhapatnam that left a sailor dead and two
others injured was caused by an explosion in its battery
compartment, Navy officials said here on Saturday.
Sindhurakshak, a Russian-origin Kilo class submarine,
was in the Visakhapatnam harbour for a routine maintenance
when the mishap occurred last evening.
"It was due to a defective battery and Leading
Electrical Technician Kump Dand was killed," the official
said.
India had bought the 2300-tonne submarine from Russia
as part of an early 1980s deal and commissioned it in 1997. It
is the ninth of the 10 Sindhugosh class diesel-electric
powered vessel that the Navy has in its 16-vessel submarine
fleet.
Sindhurakshak is scheduled for a major mid-life refit
later this year as part of a programme for this class of
vessels which began in 1997 with Sindhuvir.
In January 2008, another vessel from this class, INS
Sindhugosh, collided with a merchant vessel off Mumbai while
participating in a naval exercise.
The boat collided with the cargo ship as it was
surfacing in a silent mode with its radio and radar switched
off.
The damage caused to the submarine during the mishap
resulted in it being off service for about a month.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, February 27, 2010, 12:16