Four bodies found in sunken India submarine Published duration 16 August 2013

image caption The navy says that it will continue the search until all bodies are located or it can be stated with finality that none remain to be found

Indian navy divers have recovered four bodies from a submarine which sank after it exploded in a Mumbai dockyard, with 18 sailors feared dead on board.

"Four bodies have been located and extricated... They are severely disfigured and not identifiable due to severe burns," a navy spokesman said.

"A search is on for more but finding any survivors is unlikely," he added.

Earlier, the navy released names of the 18 missing crew members, whose families have begun arriving in Mumbai.

It is not clear what caused the blasts on the diesel and electricity-powered INS Sindhurakshak.

An inquiry is under way and sabotage has not been ruled out, although officials say that looks unlikely.

'Jammed doors, distorted ladders'

Diving teams have been working "non-stop" to get inside the submarine since rescue operations began on 14 August, the navy said.

"Access to the inner compartments of the submarine was made almost impossible due to jammed doors and hatches, distorted ladders, oily and muddy waters inside the submerged submarine resulting in total darkness and nil-visibility even with high power underwater lamps," the spokesman told reporters on Friday morning.

Divers were only able to reach "the second compartment behind the conning tower" where three bodies were found "after 36 hours of continuous diving effort", he said, adding that the bodies had been sent to the naval hospital for possible DNA identification.

The fourth body, which was found later, has also been sent for identification.

The state of the bodies and conditions within the submarine "led to [the] firm conclusion that finding any surviving personnel within the submarine is unlikely", the spokesman said.

The operation was made even more difficult "as the explosion and very high temperatures, which melted steel within, would have incinerated the bodies too", he added.

"However, the navy will continue to search every inch of the submarine till all bodies are either located or it can be stated with finality that no bodies remain to be found.

media caption Amateur video shown on Indian television showed a large fireball illuminating the sky

"Salvage of the submarine would only be attempted thereafter for which many alternatives including deploying professional salvers are being considered," he said.

On Thursday night, the navy released the names of the 18 missing crew, which included three officers and 15 sailors.

A Navy press note said the three officers were Lt Commander Nikhilesh Pal, Lt Commander Alok Kumar and Lt Commander R Venkatraj.

The sailors were identified as Sanjeev Kumar, KC Upadhyay, Timothy Sinha, Keval Singh, Sunil Kumar, Dasari Prasad, Liju Lawrence, Rajesh Tootika, Amit Singh, Atul Sharma, Vikas, Naruttam Deuri, Malay Haldar, Vishnu V and Sitaram Badapalle.

The INS Sindhurakshak is one of the 10 Kilo-class submarines bought from Russia between 1986 and 2000. It is equipped with Russian Club-S cruise missile systems.