Sinking of INS Sindhurakshak

[VelocuR]

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INS Sindhurakshak damaged.

18 Sailors trapped inside the submarine

Fire on board INS sindhu Rakshak, several sailors trapped

Mumbai: A major fire occurred on Tuesday midnight on Indian navy submarine INS Sindhu Rakshak at the Mumbai naval dockyard.

Five naval personnel jumped into the water and came ashore, Three of them have been hospitalized.

Several other sailors are feared trapped inside.

Senior Western Naval Command oficers rushed to the spot.

The INS Sindhurakshak is a kilo-class submarine which has a displacement of 2,300 tonnes, length of 72.6 metres, a submerged speed of 19 knots (about 35 kilometres an hour), a test depth of 300 metres, a crew of 52 and endurance of 45 days.

These submarines are armed with six 533 mm torpedo tubes

Fire on board INS sindhu Rakshak, several sailors trapped

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October 12, 2012

Indian, US navies to practice rescue of sailors trapped in submarines

NEW DELHI: If an Indian submarine gets "disabled" deep underwater, the sailors are sunk since the country has only rudimentary submarine rescue facilities. Now, in a unique and complex endeavour, Indian and US navies are coming together to practice the rescue of "trapped" submariners from deep underwater.

The Indo-American submarine rescue exercise will kick off later this month, with the US Navy slated to fly down a submarine rescue system - a deep-submergence rescue vessel (DSRV) or a submarine rescue chamber (SRC) -- to Mumbai, sources said.

The DSRV or SRC will then be shipped to the exercise area, where it will dive deep underwater to "mate" with the "disabled" submarine to rescue sailors in an intricate manoeuvre rarely practiced by Indian sailors.

A DSRV or "mini submarine", equipped with pressurised chambers, sonars and cameras, can rescue 24 sailors at a time from a depth up to 610 metres after "mating" with a stricken vessel's hatch. At present, Indian sailors bank upon "submarine escape pressurized suits", or the help of diving support ships like INS Nireekshak, but they can be used only for relatively shallow depths.

Navy's endeavour to procure two DSRVs of its own, for about Rs 1,000 crore, has been hanging fire for well over a decade now. As an "interim measure", India had inked a contract with the US Navy in 1997 for its "global submarine rescue fly-away kit" service, paying an initial $734,443 for it.

But the agreement got derailed due to the sanctions imposed after the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998. It was later revived in 2004 but there was huge delay in setting up the requisite infrastructure needed for submarine rescue operations.

It also included the fitting of "Padeyes" - holding devices welded into escape hatches of submarines to secure the DSRV - on Indian submarines. The American DSRV or SRC, as per the agreement, will be transported to India within 72 hours of an emergency.

Proper submarine rescue facilities are critical for India since it has an ageing fleet of 14 diesel-electric submarines -- 10 Russian 'Kilo' class and four German HDW ones -- apart from the nuclear-powered INS Chakra leased from Russia earlier this year.

There are also six French Scorpene "killer" submarines, being constructed at Mazagon Docks under the Rs 23,562 crore 'Project-75', slated for delivery in 2015-2020, three years behind schedule. India also hopes to make its own nuclear submarine INS Arihant operational next year, which is to be followed by two additional "follow-on vessels".

Another failures to rescue sailors.

 

[Awesome]

Maintain civil discourse. I do not want to see any cheap comments celebrating the deaths of a tragic incident.

 

[DeathInvader]

any guesses of what went wrong? did any torpedo blow up?

 

[Star Wars]

delete this thread.....

 

[Awesome]

any guesses of what went wrong? did any torpedo blow up?

Guess:

Electrical fire, leading to torpedo explosion.

 

[ejaz007]

Sub Fire A Major Setback for Indian Navy

NEW DELHI — In a major setback to the Indian Navy’s already depleted submarine strength, a Russian-made kilo-class submarine, INS Sindhurakshak, caught fire at the naval dockyard in Mumbai at midnight Aug. 13 and partially sank, with all 18 crew members declared dead.

Another kilo-class sub, INS Sindhuratna, also was damaged in the fire.

INS Sindhurakshak was prepared for patrol at the time of the fire and was fully loaded with weapons, including torpedoes and cruise missiles, said Navy sources.

Navy officials said the submarine caught fire following explosions but the cause of the explosion is not known. A Defence Ministry source said it seems standard operating procedures may not have been followed. A board of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire.

The Navy source said the submarine has been badly damaged and is likely lost.

In 2010, there were explosions in the same submarine when it was docked at Visakhapatnam, killing one crew member. An investigation cited a faulty battery valve that leaked hydrogen. The submarine sailed to Russia for refit.

In 2008, another Russian-made kilo-class sub, INS Sindhugosh, collided with a merchant vessel off Mumbai while participating in a naval exercise.

The damage to Sindhurakshak and the second submarine docked alongside has left the Navy with only 11 operational subs.

With decommissionings planned in coming years of aging German HDW-class submarines, the Navy’s submarine fleet could fall to as few as seven, the Navy source added.

The Navy operated 21 submarines in the 1980s. Today, the Chinese sub fleet exceeds 60 vessels and is a point of major concern to the Indian Navy, said an Indian Navy official.

Meanwhile, French-made Scorpene submarines that will be license-produced at Mazagon Docks are nearly 36 months behind schedule and the MoD has yet to float a global tender for the purchase of six conventional submarines with air independent propulsion technology. This project was cleared in late 2010 but no decision has been made whether private sector shipyards will be allowed to participate in the $12 billion tender.

Prior to the Sindhurakshak fire, only 50 percent of the 10 kilo-class submarines in the fleet were fully operational, added the Navy official.

Sindhurakshak Upgrade

The 2010 Sindhurakshak upgrade involved a complete overhaul of the submarine, including the hull structures, as well as improved control systems, sonar, electronic warfare systems, and an integrated weapon control system and installation of Klub missiles.

Indian Dockyards

Indian Navy dockyards do not have adequate repair facilities for submarines, and major refits of kilo subs have to be done in Russia. The poor repair facilities even hamper day-to-day repairs, said the Navy source.

Sub Fire A Major Setback for Indian Navy | Defense News | defensenews.com

 

[VelocuR]

Fatal explosion 2nd for Indian sub in 3 years

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian navy submarine crippled Wednesday by a pair of explosions that killed at least some of the 18 sailors aboard had been damaged in another deadly blast in 2010 and had been brought back into service only a few months ago.

Officials said they have had no contact with any of the sailors since the explosions, which lit up the sky above the Mumbai navy base were the vessel was docked. They said navy divers had opened one of its hatches but had not yet been able to enter the submarine because it was dark and full of muddy water.

Indian navy divers have entered a crippled submarine hit by twin explosions, but have yet to reach any of the 18 sailors who are feared dead inside the vessel.

Grim Hunt for 18 Indian Sailors Trapped on Navy Submarine After Explosion

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/world/asia/explosion-partly-sinks-indian-naval-submarine.html?_r=0#h[]

NEW DELHI — Indian naval divers on Wednesday afternoon opened the main hatchway of a stricken, Russian-made Indian submarine that caught fire, blew up and sank at dock earlier in the day in one of the worst naval accidents in Indian history.

But visibility for the divers within the sunken boat was almost zero, and the effort to rescue or recover the 18 missing crew members was expected to take time. Three sailors who were on the outside of the ship when it exploded managed to scramble to safety.

Adm. D. K. Joshi, India’s naval chief, said at a news conference that the chances were slim that any of the missing sailors remained alive.

“There is a possibility, however remote it might be, of an air pocket,” he said. “We hope for the best but have to be ready for the worst.”

The submarine was docked at the Lion Gate naval shipyard, close to South Mumbai’s busy financial district and within two miles of the Gateway of India. The water where the accident occurred is so shallow that part of the stricken vessel protruded above the surface.

Admiral Joshi said there had been no communication with the missing crew since a small explosion around midnight near the bow of the submarine ignited two huge blasts from onboard munitions, possibly torpedoes or cruise missiles. The heat from the explosions and the resulting two-hour fire was so intense that it fused the submarine’s hatchways, making rescue efforts even more challenging.

“We cannot rule out the possibility of sabotage, although the indicators at this time would not support that conclusion,” Admiral Joshi said. “It is essentially an onboard explosion.”

The cause of the explosion on the 16-year-old INS Sindhurakshak, could not be immediately determined. After a February 2010 explosion in the battery compartment left one dead and two injured, the vessel was sent to the Zvezdochka shipyard in Russia for a two-and-a-half-year, $80 million retrofit. It was handed back to the Indian Navy in January, and went on a three-month, 10,000-mile shakedown cruise that ended successfully in April in Mumbai.

The crew had recharged the sub’s batteries three days before the blast, so a battery leak was not a likely cause this time, Admiral Joshi said.

After divers explore the submarine for survivors, they will try to seal two or three internal compartments, expel the water and refloat the boat, Admiral Joshi said. Only then will investigators be able to begin to look into the causes of the accident.

Defense Minister A. K. Antony went to Mumbai, where the entrance to the shipyard was heavily guarded on Wednesday by police and naval personnel. A scrum of journalists and onlookers stood outside the gates for much of the day.

“I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of those sailors and officers who were inside this submarine,” the minister said at the news conference.

An Indian news channel, NDTV, broadcast a viewer’s video of what appeared to be a series of blasts lighting up the Mumbai sky. The explosions took place a day before India’s Independence Day celebrations, when security is normally tightened at government offices and military facilities.

The Sindhurakshak is one of the 10 Kilo-class submarines that form the backbone of India’s conventional submarine force. India is building a new class of conventional submarines, called the Scorpene, with French and Spanish help. But that effort, like many Indian defense projects, has been marred by delays and squabbling among its international partners, and the first submarines are not expected to be delivered until 2015 at the earliest.

India has long relied on Russian-made military equipment, including MIG-21 fighters, whose safety and reliability have been increasingly questioned. India is the largest arms buyer in the world because its own defense manufacturing industry has been unable to deliver high-quality, low-cost weapons to satisfy the country’s wide range of defense needs.

“This accident again raises questions about Russian standards of manufacture and repair,” Adm. Arun Prakash, who retired from the Indian Navy in 2006, said in an interview. “Russian equipment is not always the best, and it is prone to failures.”

 

[MohitV]

Leak of hydrogen peroxide in a torpedo can be the probable case.......almost all deisel submarines have this risk

 

[VelocuR]

List of Submarine explosions and fire accidents
List of Submarine explosions and fire accidents - The New Indian Express

14th August 2013 02:20 PM

Jan 30, 2011

Surface warship INS Vindhyagiri caught fire when it collided with a merchant vessel near the Mumbai harbor.



Aug 30, 2010

An explosion in the battery compartment of INS Sindhurakshak left a sailor dead and two others injured. The incident happened 60 nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai.



June 28, 2010

Two kilo-class 877EKM attack submarines, INS Sindhukesri and INS Sindhuratna, collided with each other at the Naval Bay in Mumbai.



Feb 26, 2010

One sailor was killed in an accident involving INS Sindhurakshak in Vizag port.



Feb 1, 2008

Five Naval personnel on board INS Jalashwa were killed in an explosion. The incident happened during a Naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal.



Jan 7, 2008

INS Sindhugosh collided with a foreign merchant vessel MV Leeds Castle near Mumbai port.



April 21, 2006

450-tonne missile corvette, INS Prahar collided with merchant vessel MV Rajiv Gandhi near the Goa coast.



Feb 22, 2006

Fire broke out on INS Magar, a warship of the Eastern Naval Command, off Visakhapatnam coast.



Dec 27, 2005

INS Trishul collided with a commercial ship, Ambuja Laxmi, near Mumbai harbor.



Nov 1999

Fleet tanker INS Jyoti collides with a merchant vessel in the Bay of Bengal.



Aug 1990

INS Andaman sinks in the Bay of Bengal with 15 crewmen after developing a leak.

 

[My-Analogous]

List of Submarine explosions and fire accidents
List of Submarine explosions and fire accidents - The New Indian Express

14th August 2013 02:20 PM

Jan 30, 2011

Surface warship INS Vindhyagiri caught fire when it collided with a merchant vessel near the Mumbai harbor.



Aug 30, 2010

An explosion in the battery compartment of INS Sindhurakshak left a sailor dead and two others injured. The incident happened 60 nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai.



June 28, 2010

Two kilo-class 877EKM attack submarines, INS Sindhukesri and INS Sindhuratna, collided with each other at the Naval Bay in Mumbai.



Feb 26, 2010

One sailor was killed in an accident involving INS Sindhurakshak in Vizag port.



Feb 1, 2008

Five Naval personnel on board INS Jalashwa were killed in an explosion. The incident happened during a Naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal.



Jan 7, 2008

INS Sindhugosh collided with a foreign merchant vessel MV Leeds Castle near Mumbai port.



April 21, 2006

450-tonne missile corvette, INS Prahar collided with merchant vessel MV Rajiv Gandhi near the Goa coast.



Feb 22, 2006

Fire broke out on INS Magar, a warship of the Eastern Naval Command, off Visakhapatnam coast.



Dec 27, 2005

INS Trishul collided with a commercial ship, Ambuja Laxmi, near Mumbai harbor.



Nov 1999

Fleet tanker INS Jyoti collides with a merchant vessel in the Bay of Bengal.



Aug 1990

INS Andaman sinks in the Bay of Bengal with 15 crewmen after developing a leak.

History shows that Indian Navy have been straggle in case of Submarine's

 

[Jango]

What's the lates on the rescue op?

Sailors found?

 

[Parul]

INS Sindhurakshak tragedy: Bodies of three navy men recovered

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Naval divers on Friday found bodies of three naval personnel from ill-fated submarine INS Sindhurakshak which exploded and sank at the Mumbai dockyard early on Wednesday.

"Three bodies have been recovered from the submarine by our divers but their identity has not yet been ascertained," Navy sources said.

There were 18 personnel, including three officers, who had got trapped inside the 2,300 tonne Russian-made submarine and all are feared dead.

The Navy had on Thursday released the names of the three officers and 15 sailors who were in the 16-year-old warship.

The three officers are Lieutenant Commanders Nikhilesh Pal, Alok Kumar and R Venkitaraj.

The sailors stuck inside the Kilo class vessel are Sanjeev Kumar, KC Upadhya, Timothy Sinha, Kewal Singh, Sunil Kumar Dasari Prasad, Liju Lawrence, Rajesh Tootika, Amit K Singh, Atul Sharma, Vikas E Naruttam Deuri, Malay Haldar, Vishnu V and Seetaram Badapalli.

The diving efforts have been hampered by poor visibility inside the submarine which is filled with water, extremely restricted access and displacement of most equipment from their original location.

The Navy is also planning to seek help from a Dutch company to salvage the sunken warship.

In one of the worst disasters to have struck the Navy, a series of explosions rocked INS Sindhurakshak at the Mumbai dockyard sinking it partially in the shallow sea.

"We are deeply pained that we lost the submarine, INS Sindurakshak in an accident yesterday. Eighteen brave sailors are feared to have lost their lives," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said on Thursday.

"The accident is all the more painful because the Navy had recently achieved two major successes in the form of its first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant and the aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant," he had said in his Independence Day speech.

INS Sindhurakshak tragedy: 3 bodies recovered, survivors unlikely - The Times of India

Very sad News...Its a tragic Accident. I salute to all the soldiers who died in the accident..RIP..

 

[kurup]

RIP to the 3 sailors .

 

[HAIDER]

its totally gone....

 

[anant_s]

INS Sindhurakshak tragedy: 3 bodies recovered, survivors unlikely

MUMBAI: Battling difficult conditions, rescuers from Indian Navy on Friday extricated disfigured bodies of three of its personnel from submarine INS Sindhurakshak, more than two days after it exploded and burst into flames, with little hope of finding any survivors.

"The three bodies recovered are severely disfigured and not identifiable due to severe burns," the Navy said in a statement.

The bodies have been shifted to naval hospital INS Ashwini for DNA sampling for facilitating identification, defence spokesman Narendra Vispute said.

"The state of the bodies and condition within the submarine leads to firm conclusion that finding any surviving personnel within the submarine is unlikely," the release said.

Boiling water inside the warship, which sank, had thwarted all attempts by rescuers at entering the ill-fated Russia-made vessel earlier.

"Access to the inner compartments of the submarine was almost impossible due to jammed doors, distorted ladders, oily and muddy water inside the submerged submarine resulting in total darkness and nil visibility even with high powered under water lamps," the release said.

The distorted and twisted metal within very restricted space due to extensive internal damage caused by the explosion further worsened conditions for the divers which resulted in a very slow and laboured progress, it said.

Only one diver could work at a time to clear the path to gain access, it said, adding it was only after 36 hours of continuous diving effort that Navy divers could finally reach the second compartment behind the conning tower in the early hours today.

"The damage and the destruction within the submarine around the control room area indicate that the feasibility of locating bodies of the personnel in the forward part of the submarine is also very remote as the explosion and very high temperatures, which melted steel within, would have incinerated the bodies too," the Navy said.

"The process is very slow but our divers are on the job 24X7," spokesman Vispute said, adding officers have been deployed to extend all assistance to the families of the victims.

The Navy had yesterday released the names of the three officers and 15 sailors who were inside the 16-year-old Russian-made vessel.

The three officers are Lieutenant Commanders Nikhilesh Pal, Alok Kumar and R Venkitaraj.

The sailors stuck inside the 2,300-tonne Kilo class vessel are Sanjeev Kumar, KC Upadhya, Timothy Sinha, Kewal Singh, Sunil Kumar Dasari Prasad, Liju Lawrence, Rajesh Tootika, Amit K Singh, Atul Sharma, Vikas E Naruttam Deuri, Malay Haldar, Vishnu V and Seetaram Badapalli.

In the worst peacetime disaster to have struck the Navy, a series of blasts had rocked its frontline submarine at the Mumbai dockyard sinking it partially in the shallow sea.

The diesel-electric submarine was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1997 at a cost of around Rs 400 crore and had gone through a Rs 450-crore extensive upgrade in Russia.

INS Sindhurakshak tragedy: 3 bodies recovered, survivors unlikely - The Times of India