Warship INS Betwa tips over in Mumbai, 2 dead

IN

ASHITA DADHEECH AND SANJIB KR BARUAH | DC MUMBAI/DELHI, DEC. 5 A day after the Navy Day celebrations, India’s prized warship INS Betwa tipped over and crashed to its side while undergoing refit at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai around 1.50 pm on Monday. Two persons were confirmed dead and around 15 personnel have sustained injures in the incident. The injured naval personnel were rushed to the naval hospital INHS Asvini for treatment.

Indian Navy’s spokesperson, Captain D.K. Sharma confirmed that the mishap occurred around 1.50 pm. “Two sailors have succumbed to their injuries after the mishap. INS Betwa, a frigate of the Indian Navy, was in the process of undocking in the Naval Dockyard when she slipped from her dock blocks and tilted,” Captain Sharma said.

The Navy described the accident as “unprecedented and sad”.

At the time of going to press, the 3,850-tonne INS Betwa (F39) is a guided missile frigate. Armament includes Quadruple missile launchers, Super Rapid 76 mm main gun, 30 mm AK-630 Gatling guns, anti-submarine torpedoes, helicopters, etc. ship was lying on its side at the naval dock. Sources from the Navy said that the mast of the 126-metre long ship touched the ground.

The undocking operation is a complex and precision mode operation meant to dock the ship in its designated slot in the dockyard. “There would be people working on upper decks for undocking. Because water IN 2014, Betwa ran aground after hitting an unidentified object. would be six to seven metres deep there could be cases of drowning,” the source added.

Another source from the navy, who was present at the dockyard when the INS Betwa flipped over, said that at the time of refitting, a frigate always stands on an artificial support.

Aligarh (UP): Days after setting herself ablaze here after allegedly failing to exchange old notes, a 45-year-old daily wage labourer died at a hospital in New Delhi. Razia passed away on Monday. Her family told mediapersons that she immolated herself on the evening of November 20 after “failing to exchange six notes of `500 despite attempting to do so at different branches of banks in the old city area for five days”. Razia was a resident of Shahjamal locality in Delhi Gate area here. Angered by her death, locals in the area protested. On the night of November 20 when Razia was rushed to the district hospital in a critical condition she told mediapersons that she took the extreme “out of total helplessness as her four children had not eaten for three days”.