I-Day eve tragedy : Submarine Explodes; 18 Killed

The Indian Navy suffered a huge blow on Wednesday when a frontline submarine exploded and sank here at dawn with 18 sailors after two explosions turned it into a deadly ball of fire. The deep sea attack vessel INS Sindhurakshak, recently refurbished in Russia, suffered an unexplained explosion just after Tuesday midnight and an immediate deafening blast heard almost in the whole of south Mumbai.

Naval officials said the rapid spread of the blaze and the intensity of the explosions left the trapped 18 sailors, including three officers, with apparently no chance of escaping. "We cannot rule out sabotage," Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi told the media after Defence Minister A K Antony visited the disaster site at the Mumbai naval dock.

"But indications at this point do not support the (sabotage) theory," he said. "At this point of time we are unable to put a finger on what exactly could have gone wrong." An inquiry set up to probe the disaster will submit its report within four weeks. It was the worst disaster to hit the Indian Navy, which has increasingly sought to dominate the expansive Indian Ocean region with blue water operational capability.

Already facing a depleting strength of underwater vessels, the loss of one of its youngest and most capable submarines--INS Sindhurakshak, is a big setback for the Navy. The Navy has now a fleet of 14 submarines including nine Russian Kilo Class submarines, four German HDWs and one nuclear submarine INS Chakra leased to it by Russia last year. Under the around Rs 450 crore upgrades in Russian shipyards from 2010 to 2013, its structure and hull were refurbished and several other systems including its weaponry and target engagement capabilities were enhanced.

The incident came two days after India acquired its first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. The past week also saw the nuclear reactor that propels Arihant, the country's first ballistic missile submarine, going critical.