INS Viraat chief engineer dies after minor fire on ship

INS Viraat, which was on a routine deployment to Goa, reported an incident of steam leak and minor fire in one of the ship’s boiler rooms late this afternoon.

While the incident was quickly brought under control, four sailors who were present at the scene and combating the fire sustained injury from the smoke.

One of them, Chief Engineering Mechanic Ashu Singh was critical having suffered smoke inhalation. He was shifted to the naval hospital at Goa where he suffered a cardiac arrest and succumbed to his injury. Next of kin have been informed.

The other three are under treatment and out of danger. Prima facie, some insulating material in the boiler room appears to have caught fire from heat due to steam leak. Investigations are on. Viraat is expected to sail back to Mumbai soon.

The fire in the boiler room of INS Viraat occurred when she had berthed at Goa harbour after the sortie.

All the families had disembarked and the ship was in the process of shutting down the machinery incl boilers. The fire was controlled immediately by ships crew using onboard fire fighting equipment. Due to the thick smoke generated during the incident, a few sailors in the boiler room had inhaled smoke.