NEW DELHI (AP) - Rescuers found the bodies of two Indian navy officers inside a submarine Thursday after an accident occurred on the vessel during a training exercise at sea, an official said.
Rescuers who boarded the submarine after it reached port in Mumbai found the officers’ bodies, a Defense Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. He did not give any further details.
Investigators were trying to determine what caused the smoke that filled the crew area of the submarine when the accident occurred Wednesday.
Seven sailors who were overcome by the smoke were in stable condition at a Mumbai hospital, said Capt. D.K. Sharma, a navy spokesman.
Navy chief Adm. D.K. Joshi resigned to take responsibility for the accident and other incidents that have plagued the navy in recent years. The government accepted his resignation.
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.
Another navy frigate ran aground near the Mumbai naval base in January, damaging some equipment. And earlier this month, the INS Airavat, an amphibious warfare vessel, ran aground and its commanding officer was stripped of his duties, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
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