Mumbai : A sailor was missing after Indian Navy's frontline INS Brahmaputra, which was engulfed in a major fire last night at the Mumbai naval dockyard, was severely damaged and has tilted extensively to come to lie on one side, officials said here on Monday.
A fire had broken on Sunday evening on board the ship while it was undergoing a refit at the naval dockyard, and the blaze was brought under control by this morning. Subsequently, on Monday afternoon, the ship, in a badly damaged condition, started tilting on the left (port) side as water entered it.
"Despite all efforts, the ship could not be brought to an upright position. The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side," a Defence Ministry statement on Monday evening. All the naval personnel on it have been accounted for barring one junior sailor who is missing and a search has been launched for him.
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.
Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on Monday apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about an incident of fire onboard India's frontline warship INS Brahmaputra at the Mumbai naval dockyard that significantly damaged the frigate.
According to the Navy, a junior sailor is missing following the fire incident on Sunday evening and rescue teams are trying to trace him. "Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has apprised RM Shri @rajnathsingh of the fire breakout onboard Indian Naval Ship Brahmaputra and the damages caused by the incident," Singh's office said on 'X'.
It said the defence minister prayed for the safety of the missing sailor and that he directed the Navy chief to take "appropriate action". The ship was undergoing refit at the dockyard.
"A fire had broken out onboard Indian Naval Ship Brahmaputra, a multi-role Frigate, on the evening of July 21 while she was undergoing refit at the naval dockyard," the Navy said. It said the fire was brought under control by the ship's crew with assistance of firefighters from the dockyard and other ships in harbour, by this morning.
"Further, follow-on actions including sanitisation checks for assessment of residual risk of fire were carried out," it said. "Subsequently, in the afternoon, the ship experienced severe listing to one side (port side). Despite all efforts, the ship could not be brought to the upright position," it said.
"The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side," the Navy said in a statement. It said 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 matter, the statement said. (Agencies)
