Indian frigate left floating on its side after fire breaks out during repairs

Search underway to find missing junior sailor

An Indian frigate nearly capsized after a fire broke out during a refit at a dockyard in Mumbai.

A search is underway to find a junior sailor who went missing following the fire incident on INS Brahmaputra on Sunday evening, the navy said.

Firefighters from the naval dockyard joined the warship's crew to bring the fire under control on Monday but it was left "listing on its port side" from the damage.

The navy said it could not right the ship. "The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side," it said.

Checks to assess any ongoing fire risk were carried out on Monday, the navy said, while the search for the missing sailor continued on Tuesday. No further casualties were reported.

“An inquiry has been ordered by the Indian navy to investigate the accident," it said.

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The navy’s vice chief, Krishna Swaminathan, said on Tuesday the sailor was "seen coming out of the ship" but his whereabouts remained unknown.

He called the fire incident “sad” and promised that the navy would take corrective measures.

A lot of water was used to douse the fire and that perhaps upset the ship’s stability, making it tilt to one side and rest on the jetty, Swaminathan told news agency PTI.

He said the ship could yet be set upright once the water was pumped out.

Analysts said salvaging the 3,600-tonne warship would be a task for the navy amid concerns over possible sabotage while it was docked in its home port.

INS Brahmaputra is one of India's first indigenously built guided missile frigates. Commissioned in 2000, it measures 125m long with a beam of 14.4m.

The frontline warship is manned by 40 officers and over 330 sailors.