5 Navy men killed in INS Jalashva mishap

Vishakapatnam, Feb 1 : Five Navy personnel were killed and three others were injured in a major tragedy during a Naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal.

According to an Indian Navy spokesperson, the accident occurred on board the Indian Navy's latest acquisition INS 'Jalashva,' a 17,000 amphibious warship, while the ship was taking part in the Naval exercises between Visakhapatanam and Port Blair.

The accident was the result of the inadvertent inhalation of Hydrogen Sulphide gas by the repair party carrying out maintenance in one of the ship's compartment, and not due to fire or any other causes, the spokesperson clarified.

Shipwright Artificer Krishna Rao, Shipwright Artificer D R Kumar Chaitanya and Shipwright Artificer Ramesh Kumar Nayak, Leading Electrician Mechanic Radio Deepak Shivran and Electrician Mechanic Narendra Yadav, died in the accident.

The injured include Lieutenant Commanders Sweth Gupta and Ruchir Prasad, and Electrician Mechanic Yatish Pawar. The injured are being airlifted from the ship to Port Blair for further medical treatment.

Arrangements for further transportation of the deceased personnel have been made in conjunction with the Indian Air Force.

A board of inquiry has been constituted in the incident.

The Indian Navy acquired the 17,000-ton US warship USS Trenton on January 17, 2007.

The USS Trenton landing platform dock, which has been renamed INS Jalashva, is the second largest ship with the Indian Navy, after the aircraft carrier Viraat.

The ship has an unrivalled capacity to carry troops close to a battalion-strength and sustain them over a long duration.

ANI