Fire on board INS Ganga, 4 injured

At least three people including two naval sailors and two dockyard workers were injured after a minor explosion occurred in the boiler room of an Indian Navy frigate INS Ganga on Friday.

The defence PRO confimed the incident and said that the blast was caused by a gas leak from a welding gun that was being used during repair work in the engine room. The injured were rushed to the INHS Asvini Hospital at Colaba.

According to the officer, the incident took place around 12.50pm INS Ganga was undergoing a refit at the Naval Dockyard. According to Naval sources, the welding gun took time to ignite and when it did thick flames erupted causing injuries to four people.

An investigation is being conducted by the Indian Navy to find out the cause of the fire at the boiler which led to the explosion. This is the seventh incident since the last five months.

INS Ganga (F22) is a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy. Built in Mumbai by Mazagon Dock Limited, she was commissioned on December 30, 1985.

Last August, another of the navy's Russian-made diesel-powered submarines, the INS Sindhurakshak, caught fire after an explosion and sank at its home port in Mumbai, killing all 18 sailors on board.

In December, the INS Talwar, a Russian-built stealth frigate, slammed into a trawler off India's west coast, sinking the boat and tossing 27 fishermen into the sea. All of the fishermen were rescued.
With agencies inputs