A fire broke out on board India’s lone aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya on Wednesday when it was operating off the strategic Karwar base in Karnataka, officials said.
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They said all personnel on board the warship were safe.
It is learnt that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been apprised of the incident by the naval headquarters.
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In a statement, the Navy said a board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the fire incident.
The aircraft carrier was carrying out sea trials after it underwent a refit.
“During a planned sortie for the conduct of trials at sea, an incident of fire was reported onboard INS Vikramaditya today. The ship was operating off Karwar,” the Navy said.
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“The fire was brought under control by the ship’s crew using onboard fire fighting systems. No casualties have been reported. A board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident,” it added.
The officials said the incident took place in the evening.
Earlier, a young naval officer had died when a fire broke out on board the solitary aircraft carrier in April 2019.
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There was a minor fire on board INS Vikramaditya in May last year as well.
The Indian Navy is set to commission its second aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, next month.
INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier purchased by India from Russia in 2013 under a $2.3 billion deal, and it was renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, the legendary emperor.
The Russian-origin ship is often called a floating airfield. The 44,500-tonne warship is about 284 metres long and its height is around 60 metres, which is like a 20-storey building from the keel to the highest point.
The ship has a total of 22 decks, and it has the ability to carry over 30 aircraft comprising an assortment of MiG 29K jets, Kamov 31 and Kamov 28 helicopters.