A junior sailor remains missing following a fire that broke out aboard the Indian Navy’s multi-role frigate INS Brahmaputra on Sunday evening at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. The ship, which was undergoing refit, is currently resting on its side.
According to an official release by the Indian Navy on Monday, the fire erupted on the evening of July 21 and was brought under control by Monday morning with the combined efforts of the ship’s crew and firefighters from Naval Dockyard Mumbai and neighboring ships.
Follow-up actions, including sanitisation checks to assess residual fire risks, were promptly carried out. Despite these efforts, the ship continued to list and eventually came to rest on one side of her berth.
“The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side,” the Navy stated.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed about the incident by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. The Defence Minister’s office posted on social media platform ‘X’ stating, “Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has apprised RM Shri @rajnathsingh of the fire breakout onboard Indian Naval Ship Brahmaputra and the damages caused by the incident. RM prays for the safety of the missing sailor.”
The Navy has ordered an inquiry to investigate the cause of the fire. “All the personnel have been accounted for except one junior sailor, for whom the search is in progress. An inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Navy to investigate the accident,” the release added.
