In a tragic incident, Lieutenant Commander DS Chauhan lost his life after a fire broke out onboard Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya. The incident occurred when the ship was entering harbour in Karnataka’s Karwar. The fire was brought under control by the ship’s crew in a swift action preventing any serious damage affecting the ship’s combat capability. A Board of Inquiry to investigate in to the circumstances of the incident has been ordered. INS Vikrant, First Indigenous-Built AirCraft Carrier to Be Delivered to Indian Navy in 2021: Admiral Sunil Lanba.
The Navy in a statement said, “Lt Cdr Chauhan bravely led the firefighting efforts in the affected compartment.” Whilst the fire was brought under control, the officer suffered loss of consciousness owing to the smoke and fumes during the firefighting efforts. He was immediately evacuated to the Naval Hospital at Karwar, INHS Patanjali for medical attention. However, the officer could not be revived. The officer was in his late twenties and was married last month. Indian Naval Officer Lieutenant Rahul Dalal Saves Man from Drowning in Kochi.
In a series of tweets, the Navy expressed grief over the death of Lt Cdr Chauhan. In of the tweets, the Navy said, ” We salute his courage and sense of duty and will make every effort to ensure that his supreme sacrifice does not go in vain. We shall be with his family forever and at all times – Admiral Sunil Lanba CNS, all ranks and families of #IndianNavy.”
Indian Navy’s tweets:
It is with profound grief & regret that we report the sad & untimely demise of Lieutenant Commander DS Chauhan, a young colleague and a brave brother-in-arms, onboard INS Vikramaditya. He laid down his life fighting a fire in a machinery compartment 1/3 pic.twitter.com/E2NUPJtSFK
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) April 26, 2019
His daring effort prevented the fire spreading & causing major damage to the combat capability of the Carrier 2/3 pic.twitter.com/a7F9EwYRkD
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) April 26, 2019
We salute his courage and sense of duty and will make every effort to ensure that his supreme sacrifice does not go in vain. We shall be with his family forever and at all times – Admiral Sunil Lanba CNS, all ranks and families of #IndianNavy 3/3 pic.twitter.com/phCNrB98OW
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) April 26, 2019
The INS Vikramaditya was the lone aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. It has an overall length of about 284 meters and a maximum beam of about 60 meters, stretching as much as three football fields put together. Standing about 20 storeys tall from keel to the highest point, the sheer sight of this 44,500 tonne mega structure of steel is awe inspiring. The ship has a total of 22 decks. Indian Navy Ships – INS Kolkata, INS Shakti to Participate in Chinese International Fleet Review on April 23.
The aircraft carrier entered into the service with the Indian Navy in 2013. It is a modified aircraft carrier. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet Navy and later with the Russian Navy (as Admiral Gorshkov) before being decommissioned in 1996.The carrier was purchased by India on 20 January 2004 after years of negotiations at a final price of $2.35 billion.
(Picture Courtesy: Twitter/@SpokespersonNavy)
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