Naval torpedo recovery vessel sinks, one killed

One navy personnel was killed and four went missing as a naval vessel Thursday sank outside the Visakhapatnam harbour. Twenty-three personnel were rescued safely, officials said.

The Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV) A-72 had 28 navy personnel on board. A search is on for those missing.

Naval ships and aircrafts including P8I, Dorniers, and Seaking 42 C with night vision capabilities have been deployed for the search and rescue operation.

"Full scale search and rescue operations by Eastern Fleet ships is in progress to look for the missing personnel," a navy official said.

The vessel sunk off the coast of Visakhapatnam around 8 p.m. Thursday.

Built by the Goa Shipyard Limited in 1983, the ship had served the Indian Navy for the last 41 years.

A statement from the navy said the vessel was on a routine mission to recover practice torpedoes fired by fleet ships during a routine exercise, when it experienced flooding in one of its compartments.

"One sailor lost his life during the rescue operation and four personnel are reported missing. Twenty-three personnel have been rescued safely by the Search and Rescue (SAR) ships dispatched to the area," a navy statement said.

The Astravahini Class TRV is a 112 tonne naval auxiliary ship used to recover practice torpedoes fired by fleet ships and submarines.

The ship was 23 metres long and 6.5 metres at the beam.