Defence News: Indian Navy Ship Catches Fire, Junior Sailor Missing As INS Brahmaputra Set To Sink

A junior sailor of the Indian Navy is missing after frontline INS Brahmaputra caught fire and tilted on one side. Indian Navy said that due to the fire incident onboard the frigate INS Brahmaputra, the warship experienced severe listing to one side (port side) and it could not be brought to the upright position despite all efforts. 

"The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side. All personnel have been accounted for except one junior sailor, for whom the search is in progress. An inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Navy to investigate the accident," said the Navy.

It further said that the fire broke out last evening. "A fire had broken out onboard the Indian Naval Ship Brahmaputra, a multi-role Frigate, on the evening of 21 Jul 24 while she was undergoing refit. The fire was brought under control by the ship’s crew with the assistance of firefighters from Naval Dockyard, Mumbai and other ships in the harbour, by the morning of 22 Jul 24. Further, follow-on actions including sanitisation checks for assessment of the residual risk of fire were carried out," said the Indian Navy.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of the fire breakout onboard the Indian Naval Ship Brahmaputra and the damages caused by the incident.

The blaze was first detected by the ship's on-duty staff when the maintenance works were being undertaken on board last evening. The ship's fire-fighting team immediately launched a massive operation to control the conflagration and rushed reinforcements from the naval dockyard fire brigade beside other ships in the vicinity.

The Indian Navy has ordered an investigation into the incident and the blaze, the exact causes of which are not known.