An early probe has revealed that the fire on board navy submarine INS Sindhuratna, which killed two officers, was due to faulty cables, and not expired batteries that had not been replaced, sources today said.
The cables in the third compartment of the vessel caught fire, sources said.
The two officers died saving their comrades from the fire that broke out on the submarine early Wednesday. They were reportedly trapped when a hatch slammed shut. Seven sailors were injured.
There was speculation that the vessel’s batteries had not been replaced as the contract had not been finalized on time. Sources today said the contract was pending but the batteries were not the cause of the fire.
The battery was, in fact, borrowed from another submarine which is under refit. Sources say the battery had about 75 cycles to go and not beyond use.
Investigations are still on into the Sindhuratna fire and other accidents involving Kilo Class submarines of the Navy in the last seven months, they said.
After the Sindhuratna fire, Admiral DK Joshi resigned as Navy Chief taking responsibility for the accidents on his watch.
