Assam

SANJEEV KUMAR

the situation

ATUL SHARMA

Fear of setting off missiles, torpedoes keeps divers at bay.The fear of accidentally detonating one of the live torpedoes or missiles in the chambers of the sunken submarine INS Sindhurakshak hampered salvage operations on Thursday.Navy divers made 12 to 14 dives through the day, sources said, with batches of four to five men going under water for close to an hour on each attempt. But muddied water, which reduced visibility to just one foot, prevented any progress. And, with a portion of the vessel reduced to a mangled heap, divers were unable to gain entry beyond the portion that was blown apart in the blast.The navy, in an official statement, acknowledged the difficulties and said efforts were on to ascertain the status of the 18 sailors trapped at the time of the incident.“Trapped personnel have not yet been sighted or recovered,” said the statement. “Diving efforts are hampered by poor visibility inside the submarine, which is filled with water, and due to the extremely restricted spaces and the displacement of most equipment from their original location. The heat of the explosion has melted parts of the internal hull deforming the submarine hatches and preventing access to compartments.”A diver who is part of the operation said the diving teams were restricted due to the low visibility. “The water is really dirty and visibility is almost zero,” said the diver, who did not want to be named. “Teams of four to five divers are going underwater every two hours, but since the internal chambers got fused together we have not been able to make any progress.”Officers said though two missiles went off, leading to the explosion that sunk the submarine, the other live weapons are still in the two weapons chambers. They said this was also the reason that all other vessels otherwise berthed in the dock were asked to move several kilometres away into sea.“We can’t say how long this operation will take,” said a senior officer, after operations were called off on Thursday night. “We will try again tomorrow morning. Our first priority is to find the trapped sailors. If nothing works, we will have to tow the vessel to a safer spot and try other ways to get inside without disturbing the live weapons.”Retired vice admiral Madanjit Singh said salvage operation is complex but not impossible.“I hope the navy will rope in salvage experts from different companies to dewater the submarine soon. I do not have any facts, but I believe the operation is delayed because of the live torpedoes and missiles and the fact that the vessel has been badly damaged in the blast.”Sources added that the top brass of the navy forwarded the list of the 18 personnel to the Union defence ministry on Thursday with a note saying there was no chance any of them could have survived the blast. Defence Minister AK Antony, however, did not want to make any public announcement till the time the navy formally informs the families of the sailors first.The navy has informed the families of the 18 sailors about the incident and has made arrangements to bring them to Mumbai, where they will be put up in navy guest houses. Some of the families have already reached Mumbai by Thursday night.Lieutenant CommanderAn anti-submarine warfare officer from Poojapura in Thiruvananthapuram district, he was only the fourth Keralite to be posted on INS Sindhurakshak.Petty OfficerTimothy Sinha was attached to the Underwater Unit 1. A native of Silchar in, he joined INS Sindhurakshak last month. Timothy completed his education from Cachor College in his hometown.SailorAn electrical mechanic from Vazhichal in Thiruvananthapuram, Liju got married two months back. His uncle and brother, who rushed to Mumbai after being informed about the mishap, have not informed Liju’s family about the rather grim situation here.SailorA missile operator, he hailed from Jagir Tola Bihat in Begusarai district of Bihar. Sanjeev was set to celebrate his son Tej’s birthday on August 24 in Mumbai. His entire family was expected to attend. His family arrived in the city on Thursday.SailorA native of Pedagantyada on the outskirts of Vishakhapatnam, Rajesh was posted as a supervisor on INS Sindhurakshak. Rajesh joined the navy as a sailor in Mumbai in 2002 and married a girl from the neighbouring Srikakulam district in 2011. Transferred to Mumbai weeks ago.SailorA leading seaman, Kewal Singh was a resident of village Kheen Bheen in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir. He has a six-month-old daughter. His father Sagar Singh arrived in Mumbai on Thursday.Lieutenant CommanderA native of Kanpur, Sahu handled signal communications on INS Sindhurakshak. His wife informed her brother in Delhi about the mishap. He, in turn, called Sahu's parents in Kanpur.Lieutenant CommanderKumar was the second-in-command on INS Sindhurakshak. A signal communications officer, he lived with his family at the Naval Officers Residential Area (NOFRA) in Navy Nagar.SailorA mechanic from Haripad in Alappuzha, Vishnu graduated in chemistry and was first posted in Visakhapatnam. He was transferred to Mumbai only two weeks back. An uncle and a cousin of his are keeping the family back in Haripad updated.Marine EngineerA native of Lakhimpur in Assam, Deuri joined the Indian Navy in 2010 and was posted in Mumbai only last year.SailorA native of Kolassery in Kannur. Vikas, was attached to the mechanical department of the submarine. Vikas is the son of an autorickshaw driver. He joined the Navy four years ago.SailorPrasad, a native of Gopalapatnam in Visakhapatnam, handled radio communications on INS Sindhurakshak. His wife is expecting their second child. She has not been told about the mishap. His brother DVR Murthy, who is here keeping an eye on, was himself posted on INS Sindhurakshak till three months back before being transferred to the Visakhapatnam.Sailorpetty officer Underwater Unit 1SailorUnderwater Unit 3SailorSailorSailorSailor