New Delhi: A fire is said to have broken out in the third compartment of the submarine INS Sindhuratna causing emission of dense smoke. Seven sailors who fell unconscious were immediately evacuated by helicopters to hospital. The condition of the seven sailors was said to be "stable".
The third compartment houses the battery pit as well as accommodation quarters of personnel in the submarine. Speculation was rife that a blast may have triggered the fire and smoke, but Navy officers disputed this.
The personnel then tried to "ventilate" the compartment, a procedure through which smoke is pushed out of the compartment. When the smoke alarm goes off, all compartments are insulated immediately from the other so that the smoke or fire does not spread.
The Navy now has 14 submarines in its fleet, and some accounts claim the number of submarines on active operational duty at any given point is down to single digits. It is desperately awaiting induction of new submarines. To make matters worse, the induction of six French origin Scorpene submarines, now being built at the Mazgaon shipyard, has also been delayed. Defence watchers feel refits on submarines to prolong their design life due to lack of induction of new submarines and to prolong the life of the existing fleet could be dangerous.
