4 Navy men killed as floodgate crashes at Vizag dockyard

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, May 19: Two officers and two sailors were killed in an accident at the Naval dockyard at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command, on Wednesday. A sailor was injured in the incident.

 

The accident took place when the floodgate at the ship repair unit of the dockyard collapsed with a loud thud. "The gate collapsed. It was not breaking or blasting", said Navy spokesperson TLP Babu, dismissing the rumours that 18 persons were injured. Several officials and contract workers were at the site on a submarine building job when the gate collapsed.

However, contract workers’ union leader (of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions) Lakshman Swamy said the officials were refusing the entry of contract workers also inside the dockyard premises in the wake of reports that some contract workers were injured in the accident.

Commander Bharat Chandra and Lieutenant Commander Yashwant Kumar and a senior sailor were among those killed.

The bodies have been shifted to the INS Kalyani hospital in the port area. The family details of the deceased naval personnel are yet to be known.

This is the first such accident at Visakhapatnam dockyard.

The officials restricted the entry into the dockyard and the INS Kalyani hospital. The family members of the injured sailor were brought in an ambulance to enable them to see their kin in the ICU.

Malkapuram police, under whose jurisdiction the dockyard falls, maintained that the dockyard authorities had not lodged any complaint with them till afternoon about the accident.

A Board of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause and circumstances leading to the accident, they said. Vishakapatnam is the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command.