According to foreign media reports, on January 18, the Indian Navy's destroyer "INS Ranvir" exploded, killing 3 people and injuring 11 others. It is reported that at the time of the incident, the destroyer was docked at the Mumbai Naval Shipyard.
Indian Navy "Ranville" (infographic)
How did a naval warship stop and explode? The cause of the accident is suspected to have been disclosed. However, for the Indian Navy, casualties are not new at all.
The cause of the accident is suspected, and it caught fire after last year's military exercises
It is reported that the explosion occurred between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on the 18th, and the destroyer was moored at that time. The Navy confirmed the occurrence of the accident on the 18th, and said that the crew responded quickly, the situation was quickly controlled, and the explosion "did not cause major damage."
Sources said the explosion was clearly unrelated to "ammunition or weapons" and was likely caused by a Freon leak in an unoccupied air-conditioned cabin. The three victims were in the cabin above the blast chamber when they were injured by many of the debris from the blast and sucked down. Among those injured, "some fell to the ground while trying to fight the fire, and some inhaled harmful gases, but they were all small injuries." A physical injury is a broken ankle or something like that. There are also people who have suffered minor internal injuries, most likely due to inhalation of Freon. The source said. At present, the injured are being treated at the Mumbai Naval Hospital.
On the 19th, the Indian Navy extended condolences to the families of the victims in a statement, saying that everyone stood with the families at this difficult time. The three victims were Krishan Kumar (MCPO I), Surinder Kumar (MCPO II) and AK Singh (MCPO II). Sources said all three were senior navy officers but not officers. The Indian Navy has set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident.
Three victims according to the network
According to foreign media reports, this is the second major accident involving the "Ranville" since October last year. Last October, the destroyer caught fire and burned four crew members after participating in the Malabar military exercise, co-hosted by India, Japan, Australia and the United States.
It is reported that the "Ranville" is a former Soviet-era warship, which has been in service since April 1986, and is one of the longest-serving warships in the Indian Navy. The battleship has been in cross-coastal operational deployment by India's Eastern Naval Command since November 2021 and is scheduled to return to bases on the east coast soon.
Naval accidents are frequent, and there are many deaths and injuries
It was also reportedly the Indian Navy's first major fatal accident since June 2019. At the time, a fire broke out on the under-construction destroyer Visakhapatnam at the Mazagon dockyard in India, killing one person.
The destroyer "Ranville" (first from the left) participates in the "Malabar" exercise
In addition, in October 2021, the Indian Navy destroyer INS Ranvijay was docked at the port of Visakhapatnam, causing four injuries.
In May of the same year, a fire broke out on the Indian Navy aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (also known as the "King of the Sun"), but fortunately it was extinguished in time without major casualties. But a fire in April 2020 killed an officer involved in the rescue.
The port of Mumbai, India, where the incident occurred, has also had a major naval accident before. In August 2013, a Russian-made Kilo-class submarine of the Indian Navy, Sindulaksak, exploded in the port of Mumbai and subsequently caught fire and sank, killing as many as 18 people.
Red Star News reporter Lin Rong
Edited by Guo Yu
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