INS Brahmaputra damaged, one sailor missing in Mumbai dockyard fire
Mumbai/New Delhi: In one of the worst naval accidents in recent times, India’s multi-role guided missile frigate INS Brahmaputra was severely damaged in a major fire following which the warship nearly keeled over on Monday and remained in a tilted position at the naval dockyard in Mumbai.
While a junior sailor on board the ship is reported missing, the Indian Navy has instituted an enquiry to find out the root cause behind the accident that began after an on-board fire on Sunday.
“A fire had broken out onboard INS Brahmaputra, on the evening of July 21 while she was undergoing refit. While the fire was brought under control by Monday morning, the ship experienced severe listing to one side (port side) in the afternoon,” said an Indian Navy spokesperson.
“Despite all efforts, the ship could not be brought to the upright position. The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side,” he said.
This is one of the worst Indian Navy accidents in a decade’s time.
According to naval sources, the ship has suffered extensive damage and salvage operations will be undertaken to refloat the vessel.
All personnel have been accounted for except one junior sailor, for whom the search is in progress.
It is not yet known how many officers and sailors were on board the ship during the refit operations.
The fire started in the ship, which was undergoing refit, on Sunday evening. But it was brought under control with assistance of firefighters from Naval Dockyard and other ships in harbour, by morning of July 22.
“Further, follow-on actions including sanitisation checks for assessment of residual risk of fire were carried out,” he said.
The last time such an accident happened was in 2016 when missile frigate INS Betwa—belonging to the same class as INS Brahmaputra—capsized on her port side due to a loss of stability while undocking. Two people were killed and 14 were injured in the accident.
The ship was righted after two months by a US company contracted by the Indian Navy.
Built at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata INS Brahmaputra is the lead ship of her class of guided missile frigates. The 3850 tonnes ship was commissioned in 2000. The other two vessels in the same class are INS Betwa and INS Beas.