A blast onboard frontline warship INS Ranvir on Tuesday killed three Navy personnel and injured several others in Mumbai. The Navy has ordered the mandatory board of inquiry to find out the cause of the blast.
In a statement issued late in the evening, the Navy said, “In an unfortunate incident today at Naval Dockyard Mumbai, three naval personnel succumbed to injuries caused by an explosion in an internal compartment onboard INS Ranvir. The ship’s crew responded immediately and quickly brought the situation under control. No major material damage has been reported.”
INS Ranvir was on cross-coast operational deployment from the Eastern Naval Command since November last year and was due to return to base port shortly.
The incident took place when the Rajput-class destroyer was docked at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.
A preliminary probe indicated the blast had nothing to do with weapons or ammunition explosion. The court or board of inquiry will investigate all the angles, sources said.
The fourth of the five Rajput-class destroyers, INS Ranvir was commissioned into the Indian Navy on October 28, 1986.
Last year in October, a fire onboard Indian Navy’s destroyer INS Ranvijay injured four people. The incident happened when the warship was docked at the Visakhapatnam Naval Harbour.
In May last year, a fire onboard India’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya caused an alarm. However, the fire was doused and all personnel on board were safe and suffered no major injuries.
The ill-fated ship in Mumbai is 5,000 tons, nearly 500 feet long with a beam of 52 feet. It carries Brahmos missiles besides has the capability of launching two helicopters. The ship can travel at a top speed of 40 knots.