NEWS ALERT! UPDATE 15:49 EST INDIAN SUBMARINE FIRE:
USNI NEWS REPORTS DEATH TOLL MAY NOW BE 18:http://news.usni.org/2013/08/15/sub-fire-reveals-key-indian-navy-weakness#more-4378
INS SINDHURAKSHAK at the start of her refit- Photo Indian Navy
We regret to inform our readers that the Indian Navy has experienced a fire in port aboard one of its submarines acquired from Russia. At our last report the submarine was partially sunk at the dock, a number of crewmen had escaped the hull but seven are reported dead, there were as many as 18 unaccounted for and believed still in the hull. We solicit the prayers of our visitors for the crew and their families of the INS SINDHURAKSHAK.
We have often expressed our admiration for the Indian Navy , a highly skilled and constantly improving navy that is a force for freedom in the world. We have often lamented that the United States and Western Europe have not aided and drawn closer to this navy because of the non aligned status of India.
To our mind being non aligned does not detract from being the Navy of the world's largest, and one of the more stable democracies. Being non aligned doesn't detract from a manifest respect for international law. A navy and a nation that demonstrate these attributes may be relied on to protect international order in the Indian ocean, reducing costs to international navies with traffic in the region. The submarine that caught fire was built in Russia. India has been forced to build a navy around an international collection of non standard equipment as it gradually builds up it national war ship building capacity. That accidents are so few and far between in such a non standardized fleet is a tribute to skill of the Indian Officers and ratings. This is a navy that has long deserved a NATO inter-operative fleet and Western help in acquiring and maintaining it. The fact that India is not formally aligned and may not always vote with the Western block doesn't make her any kind of danger to democracy or world order. She is a responsible regional power, one that is needed in her region.
The BBC appears to have good news coverage of the event:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23691324#story_continues_1 Also you may find coverage at NavalToday.com: http://navaltoday.com/2013/08/14/explosion-inside-ins-sindhurakshak-kills-traps-sailors/ Please Pray for the missing , the dead and their families and the injured and their families.
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| Tiger by Karen Arnold http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=33777&picture=tiger |
THE TIGER WILL SURVIVE THIS TRAGEDY AND STILL HAS ITS EYE ON THE INDIAN OCEAN FOR THE WORLD.
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