Three killed, 11 injured in the blast on destroyer INS Ranvir

                                       

Three killed, 11 injured in the blast on destroyer INS Ranvir

Three Navy personnel were killed and 11 were injured in an explosion aboard the age-old destroyer INS Ranvir at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The Navy said that "no major material damage has been reported" and a board has been set up to investigate the incident.

INS Ranvir, one of the oldest warships of the Navy, is a Soviet-era destroyer and was commissioned in April 1986.

The fourth destroyer of the Rajput class, it is the first of the Ranvir class. The other Ranvir class destroyer is INS Rannvijay.

The Navy said in a statement: "In an unfortunate incident today at the Mumbai Naval Dockyard, three Navy personnel died due to an explosion in an internal compartment onboard INS Ranvir."

It is said that the ship's crew responded quickly and the situation was quickly brought under control. "No major material damage has been reported," it said.

The blast took place between 4.30 pm and 5 pm when the ship was docked.

The Navy said that INS Ranvir was on "Cross Coast Operational Deployment from Eastern Naval Command" since November 2021 and was scheduled to return to the base port soon.

Sources said the three personnel who died were all senior sailors but not officers. The Navy is in the process of reaching out to the families of the deceased and will release their names and details thereafter.

Sources said the blast had nothing to do with ammunition or weapons.

A senior official said the blast took place in an AC compartment and the three people who died were in a compartment above it.