Mumbai: Navy divers have recovered the sixth body from the mangled remains of submarine INS Sindhurakshak on late Saturday night while hopes over the survival of remaining 12 are very dim. The bodies are badly charred and are unidentifiable and have, therefore, been sent to the naval hospital for DNA testing.
Meanwhile, the Navy has instituted a Board of Inquiry to probe the cause of the explosions and is expected to submit its report within four weeks. The fire broke out on Tuesday night after explosions occurred in the front section of the submarine's torpedo room. There were torpedoes and missiles with warheads onboard. The front section of the submarine was left completely twisted and crumpled due to the explosion.
Navy divers had been facing challenges in reaching the men trapped because of poor visibility, restricted space and the melted hull. The rescue workers are pumping out water from the submarine, hoping to make it refloat. While sources in the Navy hope the pumping out of the water is completed in the next 24 to 48 hours, the entire salvage operation could even take up to a month.
The salvage operation is turning out to be tricky and dangerous. Heavy duty pumps are being used to pump out the water from the submarine. The heat of the explosion has melted parts of the internal hull and access to the compartments has reduced as the submarine hatches have deformed.
As rescue operations continue, Russia has defended the submarine saying they don't see any technical failure as the likely cause behind the incident. Russia has also offered help in the probe.
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