Naval officer dies fighting fire onboard INS Vikramaditya
26 Apr 2019
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A naval officer died today after a fire broke out onboard INS Vikramaditya, India's only aircraft carrier, while entering the harbor in Karnataka's Karwar this morning, an official release from the defence ministry stated.
While the fire was brought under control by the ship’s crew in a swift action preventing any serious damage affecting the ship’s combat capability, the officer who led the firefighting could not be rescued.
“Lt Cdr DS Chauhan bravely led the firefighting efforts in the affected compartment. Whilst the fire was brought under control, the officer suffered loss of consciousness owing to the smoke and fumes during the firefighting efforts. He was immediately evacuated to the Naval Hospital at Karwar, INHS Patanjali for medical attention. However, the officer could not be revived,” a brief defence ministry release stated.
A Board of Inquiry to investigate in to the circumstances of the incident has been ordered.
A Board of Inquiry to investigate the fire incident onboard INS Vikramaditya has been ordered.
Vikramaditya is 284 metres long and 60 metres high -- that's about as high as a 20-storeyed building – and weighs 40,000 tonnes, making it the biggest and heaviest ship in the Indian Navy.
The $2.3 billion aircraft carrier came to India from Russia in January 2014. INS Vikramaditya, which was commissioned into the Indian Navy in November 2013 at the Sevmash shipyard in north Russia's Severodvinsk, is based at its home port at Karwar in Karnataka.
