Reviews relief operations, meets family members of sailor who died after vessel sank amid the extensive search and rescue operations, on Sunday, to trace four navy personnel who went missing after their Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV) A 72 sank off Vishakhapatnam on Thursday. Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan dismissed the reports that the sunken Torpedo Recovery Vessel A-72 was unfit adding that the ship was in a “good condition” and had been checked before it set sail.
Admiral Dhowan, who was in Visakhapatnam 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.”
Nine warships and four types of aircraft were carrying out round-the-clock surveillance 120 nautical south-west of Vishakhapatnam, officials said here on Sunday adding the missing included one officer and three sailors. There were 29 personnel, including six top Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) personnel on board when the vessel sank after seawater entered it most probably through the shafts.
The missing officer is naval inspector armament and three sailors include two divers, officials said adding senior navy officers were in constant touch with the families of these personnel to keep them abreast of rescue operations.
The Navy chief, who cut short his two-nation visit to Kenya and Seychelles on Thursday after learning about the tragedy and rushed to Vishakhapatnam on Sunday. He met the rescued personnel and inquired about their well-being, officials said.
The TRV was on a routine mission to recover dummy torpedoes fired from INS Ranjit and after successful retrieving the spent torpedo was returning to base when tragedy struck at about 6.30 pm on Thursday 35 nautical miles off Vishakhapatnam.
While the mandatory Board of Inquiry was immediately ordered, officials fear that a malfunctioning seal of the shafts to prevent water from entering the vessel was the cause of mishap.