Mumbai: Thirty six hours have elapsed since disaster struck submarine INS Sindhurakshak and the divers are yet to reach the three trapped officers and 15 sailors with water having entered the submarine and heat from the fire deforming the hatches.
An Indian Navy press release said "Navy divers have entered INS Sindurakshak late evening 14 Aug and efforts continue round the clock to ascertain the status of the 18 trapped personnel who were inside the submarine at the time of the incident.
"Trapped personnel have not yet been sighted or recovered. The diving efforts are hampered by poor visibility inside submarine which is filled with water, extremely restricted spaces and displacement of most equipment from their original location. The heat of the explosion has melted parts of the internal hull deforming the submarine hatches and preventing access to compartments.
"Heavy duty pumps are being used to pump out the water from the submarine. There has been large scale ingress of sea water into the submarine due to the explosion.
"Diving and salvage operations are continuing round the clock."
