By
Rajeev K Khattar
The INS Sindhurakshak submarine tragedy happened on the 14th of August 2013, which resulted in the fire and sinking of the Submarine. 18 crewmembers are feared dead, of which 3 were officers and 15 were sailors. As per current updates, 6 bodies have been recovered so far. It is said that this disaster is the worst hit for the Indian Navy in a span of three decades.
Now, lets take a look at this incident in more detail.
INS Sindhurakshak, which means "Protector of the sea" in Sanskrit. INS Sindhurakshak was a diesel electric submarine of Indian Navy. It was Russian made and it was ninth of the ten kilo class type submarines of Indian Navy. This Kilo class Type 636 submarine was commissioned on 24th December 1987. The INS Sindhurakshak had suffered a minor fire incident in the year 2010, which was repaired later. But 14th august 2013 proved to be an irreversible incident, which resulted in the fire and sinking of the submarine.
How did the incident occur?
It all started while returning from the refit in March 2013. The Submarine encountered heavy storm conditions in the Mediterranean Sea, near Alexandria. This journey was to complete a three month period deployment, where the submarine covered 10,000 miles. The encounter with the storm had definitely had its effects on the submarine. The storm made it impossible for the coast guards to send a tugboat to retrieve the submarine to the port, and because of the shallow waters the submarine could not dive in. After an emergency call to the Egyptian Navy via the Indian Ministry of external Affairs, latest tug boats were deployed to get the submarine back to the port.
On the ill-fated day on 14 August 2013, because of the onboard fire, which was soon followed by a series of blast, this underwater robot sank to its end in Mumbai.
What caused the explosions ?
The submarine is said to have been fully loaded when the fire started which led to the explosions. This has come as a major setback in the Indian Navy defense system, which has a total of 14 submarines of which only seven to nine are ready for use at any point of time. The 14th August 2013 incident has not been the only incident with respect to INS Sindhurakshak, in 2010 a similar fire incident killed a 24 year old sailor while the submarine was docked in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Due to the damage caused to the submarine, the Navy rescue team found it difficult in recovering the bodies trapped inside the vessel. The explosion left the vessel twisted, crumpled, and the water had entered the front compartment.
So far, the actual reason behind the explosion is not found out, but according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, safety rules violation could be the cause for this unfortunate event. He further said that, the news that he received was : blast had occurred in the area where storage batteries were being charged. This is totally with respect to maintenance rather than with the production of the vessel. However further enquiry will reveal us more information on this tragic incident.
Let’s see what astrology and numerology has to say on this unfortunate event.
INS Sindhurakshak was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 24th December 1997, which is the day Atiganda yoga. It is not considered auspicious to start any important venture on this day. As per Muhurat Shastra, this yoga should have been avoided to commission INS Sindhurakshak in the Indian Navy .
Numerological value of the name INS Sindhurakshak totals to 49. It’s Chaldean interpretation or meaning is as follows: more self-contained, lonely, and isolated from his fellows. Not a fortunate number from a worldly standpoint.
And thats exactly the fate encountered by the the submarine and its 18 crew members.
May the souls of our heroes rest in peace.
