The three Navy personnel who succumbed to injuries caused by an explosion on board Indian Navy's destroyer ship INS Ranvir have been identified as Krishan Kumar MCPO (master petty chief officer)I, Surinder Kumar MCPO II & AK Singh MCPO II.

In a condolence message, Admiral R Hari Kumar said, “CNS and all of Indian Navy extend heartfelt condolences to the families of Krishan Kumar MCPO I, Surinder Kumar MCPO II and  AK Singh MCPO II  who succumbed to injuries caused by the unfortunate incident onboard INS Ranvir on 18 January 2022. We fully stand by with the families in this difficult time.”

On Tuesday, a statement by the Ministry of Defence said, “In an unfortunate incident today at Naval Dockyard Mumbai three naval personnel succumbed to injuries caused by an explosion in an internal compartment onboard INS Ranvir. No major material damage has been reported.”

The explosion reportedly occurred around 4:45 pm in an internal compartment of the destroyer which was anchored at Mumbai on cross-coast deployment from Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam. It was not caused due to weapons or ammunition.

A board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause.

"The ship's crew responded immediately and quickly brought the situation under control" said the statement.

While further details are awaited, as per the reports, possibly, the blast occurred due to leakage of gas in the air-conditioning compartment of the warship. Those who died were sitting in their cabin adjoining the AC compartment when the blast occurred. The cabin collapsed on them.

An ADR (accidental death report) has been registered at Colaba Police Station in the case of three deaths that occurred in an internal compartment onboard INS Ranvir.  

INS Ranvir was on cross-coast operational deployment from the Eastern Naval Command since November 2021 and was due to return to base port shortly.

INS Ranvir, the first of the Ranvir class destroyers was commissioned into the Indian navy on April 21, 1986. The ships were built in the former Soviet Union. The role of Ranvir class ships involves protection such as anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare for carrier task force defence against submarines, low-flying aircraft, and cruise missiles.

The current Navy chief, Admiral R Hari Kumar, has commanded the ship earlier in his career.