The INS Jalashva

New Delhi, Feb. 1: At least five sailors were killed and three injured in an explosion on the Indian Navy’s sole US-origin vessel, the INS Jalashva, during a war game in the Bay of Bengal this evening.

Eastern Naval Command sources in Visakhapatnam confirmed the mishap on board but could not immediately describe its nature.

The vessel, the second largest ship in the Indian Navy’s fleet after the aircraft carrier Viraat, was taking part in an exercise with surface combatants of the eastern fleet in the high seas between Visakhapatnam and Port Blair.

The last report from Visakhapatnam said the ship was sailing to Port Blair with the bodies of the sailors.

The Jalashva was known as the USS Trenton in the US Navy. The ship sailed to India after a refit and was inducted into the domestic fleet around six months ago.

A blast in the boiler room or in one of the machinery compartments is suspected. A board of inquiry will determine the cause of the accident. Defence minister A.K. Antony expressed “deep regret” at the loss of life.

The Jalashva is in the class of vessels known as landing platform docks and can accommodate six helicopters on board. It is a carrier of troops meant for amphibious operations such as an infantry thrust from the sea and for disaster relief. The ship’s home port is in Visakhapatnam.

Today’s mishap is the second involving an Indian naval vessel in less than a month. In early January, a submarine hit a merchant vessel off Gujarat. That was also during a fleet exercise.

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