Zee Media Bureau/Kamna Arora
New Delhi: Almost a week after the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak, Defence Minister AK Antony on Thursday did not rule out sabotage angle in the Navy submarine accident.
Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha, Antony said seven bodies have been recovered, indicating there is no possibility of survival of any person onboard the submarine.
The DNA test on the recovered bodies will be conducted at JJ hospital, said the minister.
He also revealed that half of the submarine is embedded in silt and diving operations are still on to salvage INS Sindhurakshak.
Antony also told that there was no insurance for warships and submarines.
Hailing Antony, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said that he appreciated the defence minister`s "honest confession that the submarine tragedy has affected our credibility".
The submarine, with 18 naval personnel aboard, was rocked by a fire in the intervening night of August 13-14 at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai. Antony had visited Mumbai on August 14 to obtain a first-hand account of the situation.
Preliminary investigations into the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak had revealed that the "near-simultaneous" explosions that preceded a fire which engulfed the submarine were caused by the possible ignition of its armaments, Antony had said earlier this week.
He had also said there was also an offer of help from Russia, where the vessel`s refit and upgrade had been undertaken.
