Mortal remains of Naval officer who lost his life onboard aircraft carrier brought home

Bhopal, Apr 28: Mortal remains of Indian Navy's Lieutenant Commander Dharmendra Singh Chauhan (30) who lost his life during fire fighting operations on-board aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in Karwar, Karnataka, was brought to his home in Ratlam on Sunday.

According to reports, a blast in a steam pipe in the engine room of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is believed to have led to the fire that claimed the life of a naval officer on Friday at INS Kadamba naval base here. Nine others were injured in the accident. The blast damaged the fuel pipe causing the fire in the engine room.

Chauhan, who died dousing the flames, was hit by a jet of hot steam when he went into the smoke-filled room to fight the fire, which left him unconscious, sources said.

The fire broke out on Deck 3 of the vessel and damaged two compartments. The vessel has 21 decks and a thorough check has been ordered to prevent such incidents.

Doctors who conducted the postmortem on Lt Commander Chauhan at Karwar district hospital said he had been badly hit by steam and he had sustained severe burns on his upper body. He was declared dead when he was brought to the naval hospital.

After the autopsy, his body was handed over to his wife Karuna Singh. The mortal remains were flown to in a special aircraft from Goa to Indore. A guard of honour was given to the deceased officer earlier.