Visakhapatnam: Dismissing reports that the sunken Torpedo Recovery Vessel A-72 was unfit, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan said the ship was in a "good condition" and had been checked before it set sail.
Admiral Dhowan, who was here on Sunday evening to meet the family members of the sailor James Jacob who died after the vessel sank off the Visakhapatnam coast on Thursday night, told reporters, “before a vessel sails out, all its aspects are checked. The ship concerned was in absolutely good condition.”
He said Navy was doing all to search for the missing four Navy personnel.
"Navy has already launched a full-scale Search and Rescue (SAR) operation and we will do whatever we can to trace the missing four naval personnel. A board of inquiry headed by a captain is in progress to investigate the circumstances that led to the mishap," Dhowan added.
Replying to a query whether the vessel was carrying crew members beyond its capacity that could have led to the mishap, Dhowan said the vessel was in completely "correct state".
The Navy Chief, along with his officials of Eastern Naval Command visited the family of Shishir Kumar Y, a weapon's officer of the Naval Armament Inspection Office of Eastern Naval Command, one of the four missing personnel.
Dhowan reviewed the search and rescue operation by the force to find four of its personnel who are still missing.
Dhowan also met the rescued crew of the ill-fated vessel before departing for New Delhi late in the evening.
No missing personnel have been found till this evening, Navy statement said.
The search was going on in an area 120 nautical mile South West of Visakhapatnam catering for the prevailing drift and currents, it said.
Several ships of the Eastern Fleet and a few aircraft including Boeing P8I, Dorniers, Sea King 42C and Chetak helicopters have been deployed to search the missing personnel.
Naval authorities are also in constant touch with the families of three missing sailors, keeping them informed about the progress of SAR operations, it said.
A torpedo recovery vessel (TRV), with 29 personnel onboard, had sunk on Thursday night while on a "routine" mission to recover dummy torpedoes fired by the fleet's ships during a "routine" exercise.
Though 24 personnel were rescued safely by the fleet ships, which reached the accident site promptly, one sailor James Jacob lost his life during the rescue operation and four personnel (one officer and three sailors) are still reported missing.
