Survival ruled out as 5 bodies found in sunk Sindhurakshak
18 Aug 2013 5:21 AM IST
The ‘severely disfigured’ bodies of five sailors were recovered Friday from the submarine which sank, with 18 men in it, here on early hours of Wednesday. The navy has now declared that finding any survivor is unlikely.
The five bodies were found by naval divers from the 2,300 tonne INS Sindhurakshak, which was recently refurbished in Russia, but suffered explosions and went down in the high security Mumbai dockyard.
‘Efforts to trace and retrieve the other 13 bodies of sailors are underway on a war footing and we are hopeful of further recoveries by late this evening,’ an official said. These five were among the 15 sailors and three officers who got trapped in the submarine berthed at the Mumbai dock once disaster struck. Eight of the sailors were married.
The bodies were sent to the government-run Sir JJ Hospital for autopsy, DNA and other tests to ascertain their identity.
The search operation has slowed down as only one diver can work at a time owing to the cramped space inside the submarine. Also, all equipment in the deep sea fighter vessel has shifted from original locations.
The navy said ‘the state of (the bodies) and conditions within the submarine leads to the firm conclusion that finding any surviving personnel is unlikely.
‘The damage and destruction within the submarine around the control room area indicate that the feasibility of locating bodies of personnel in the forward part of the submarine is also very remote as the explosion and very high temperatures, which melted steel within, would have incinerated the bodies too,’ the statement added.
The bodies extricated from the submarine ‘are severely disfigured and not identifiable due to severe burns’, the navy said, adding they have been sent to INHS Asvini, the naval hospital, for possible DNA identification.
The five bodies were found by naval divers from the 2,300 tonne INS Sindhurakshak, which was recently refurbished in Russia, but suffered explosions and went down in the high security Mumbai dockyard.
‘Efforts to trace and retrieve the other 13 bodies of sailors are underway on a war footing and we are hopeful of further recoveries by late this evening,’ an official said. These five were among the 15 sailors and three officers who got trapped in the submarine berthed at the Mumbai dock once disaster struck. Eight of the sailors were married.
The bodies were sent to the government-run Sir JJ Hospital for autopsy, DNA and other tests to ascertain their identity.
The search operation has slowed down as only one diver can work at a time owing to the cramped space inside the submarine. Also, all equipment in the deep sea fighter vessel has shifted from original locations.
The navy said ‘the state of (the bodies) and conditions within the submarine leads to the firm conclusion that finding any surviving personnel is unlikely.
‘The damage and destruction within the submarine around the control room area indicate that the feasibility of locating bodies of personnel in the forward part of the submarine is also very remote as the explosion and very high temperatures, which melted steel within, would have incinerated the bodies too,’ the statement added.
The bodies extricated from the submarine ‘are severely disfigured and not identifiable due to severe burns’, the navy said, adding they have been sent to INHS Asvini, the naval hospital, for possible DNA identification.
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