Indian Submarine Sinks after Fire, Casualties Reported

A large explosion and fire on an Indian submarine berthed at a Mumbai dockyard has killed a number of crew members, according to the country's Interior Ministry.

The incident has claimed the lives of several sailors, Indian Defense Minister AK Anthony said, without specifying the death toll.  Earlier the navy said 18 sailors had been trapped on board, the BBC informs.

The blast on the INS Sindhurakshak took place after midnight and fire-fighters spent four hours putting out the blaze. Officials said the diesel-powered vessel was badly damaged.

The vessel was “fully-armed” at the time of the incident and the fire caused explosions among the torpedoes and missiles on board, local television station NDTV reported, quoting Indian Defense Ministry sources as saying.

“The blast took place in the weapons compartment,” a defense source told the channel, as cited by RIA Novosti.

The fire is not the first such incident on board - in 2010, a crewman died following a fire in the ship's batteries while it was in another port. The INS Sindhurakshak (S63) returned to India from Russia in January this year after an extensive refit at the Zvezdochka shipyard that included installation of Club S long-range cruise missiles.

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