A fire broke out on the Indian Navy warship INS Brahmaputra, which was undergoing maintenance at the naval dockyard in Mumbai. The incident occurred on Sunday evening, and despite efforts to control the situation, a junior sailor is still missing, according to Navy officials. All other personnel have been accounted for.
The navy stated that the fire on the multirole frigate was brought under control by the ship’s crew, with assistance from firefighters at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, and other ships in the harbor, by Monday morning. Following the containment of the fire, sanitization checks were conducted to assess any residual risks.
In the afternoon, the ship began listing to one side. Despite various efforts to stabilize the vessel, the ship could not be brought to an upright position and is now resting on its side at the berth. The search for the missing junior sailor is ongoing, and an inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Navy to investigate the incident.
INS Brahmaputra, the first of the indigenously built Brahmaputra-class guided missile frigates, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in April 2000. The ship is manned by a crew comprising 40 officers and 330 sailors. It is equipped with medium-range, close-range, and anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, and torpedo launchers. The frigate also has a comprehensive array of sensors for maritime warfare and can operate Seaking and Chetak helicopters.
The INS Brahmaputra has a displacement of 5,300 tonnes, a length of 125 meters, a beam of 14.4 meters, and can achieve speeds in excess of 27 knots.
