INS Brahmaputra fire: Search on for missing sailor; Navy chief briefs Rajnath on accident

A search operation is underway to trace the junior sailor who went missing after a major fire broke out onboard Indian Navy warship INS Brahmaputra on Sunday evening. The multi-role frigate suffered severe damage in the accident even as the fire was brought under control by Monday morning.

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi has apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about the incident.

"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 damage caused by the incident," Singh's office said in a post on X.

It said the defence minister prayed for the safety of the missing sailor.

The warship was undergoing a maintenance at the naval dockyard in Mumbai when the fire broke out. The Navy said the vessel experienced severe listing to one side (port side) and, despite all efforts, the ship could not be brought to the upright position.

“All personnel have been accounted for except one junior sailor, for whom the search is in progress,” it said, adding that the Navy has launched an investigation into the accident.

Built by Kolkata based the Garden Reach Shipyard and Engineers, INS Brahmaputra was commissioned into the Indian Navy in April 2000. 

The 3,600-ton vessel is the first of the indigenously built 'Brahmaputra' class-guided missile frigate and has a length of 125 meters and a top speed of 30 knots.

The vessel is equipped with torpedo launchers, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, medium-range, close-range, and anti-aircraft guns.