MUMBAI // Divers have recovered another burnt body from an Indian navy submarine that exploded in Mumbai as they battled against the odds to find 12 remaining crewmen, the navy said yesterday.
The diesel-powered INS Sindhurakshak exploded and sank in a military dockyard last Tuesday, dealing a setback to India's naval ambitions just days after it unveiled its first domestically made aircraft carrier.
Eighteen crewmen were on board when the submarine went down.
"They located and brought up [late on Saturday] the body of the sixth crew member just forward of the control room despite poor visibility and mangled metal," the navy said.
Divers also gained access to the forward compartment, which was destroyed in the fire, by breaking open jammed hatches, the navy said.
The navy said it believed that the state of the bodies and conditions within the submarine meant it was unlikely any surviving personnel would be found.
The diesel-powered craft, which had been returned by its Russian maker earlier this year after a major refit, sank after it was engulfed by a fireball that lit up the Mumbai night sky.
The first bodies were retrieved from the submarine on Friday. Samples from all six bodies found so far have been sent for forensic tests and fingerprinting to establish their identities, the navy said.
Samples have also been taken from family members of the crew and sent to the testing laboratory.
The navy said divers would continue to make "repeated entries" into the submarine in the coming days for a comprehensive assessment of the damage.
"The present state of the submarine and various options for salvage are being assessed," it said.
The navy also suggested that some bodies might never be found because of the fierce temperatures generated in the fire, during which some of the weapons on board, including cruise missiles and torpedoes, ignited.
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.