India navy ship blast kills officer


An Indian navy officer has been killed in an accident on board a ship being built at a dockyard in Mumbai, naval officials told the BBC.

The destroyer had been undergoing mechanical trials when a blast on board led to a toxic gas leak.

Last month, two sailors died after an accident on board a submarine, the INS Sindhuratna, at sea.

India's navy chief quit after that, the latest in a series of operational mishaps involving naval vessels.

Last year 18 sailors died in one of the navy's worst disasters when a submarine sank after a fire at the same dockyard in Mumbai.

"INS Kolkata-class destroyer ship Yard-701... suffered malfunction in its carbon dioxide unit while undergoing machinery trials, leading to gas leakage," the navy said in a press release.

Media reports say the officer inhaled a large amount of toxic gas and was taken to hospital, where he died.

Friday's accident is thought to be the 12th involving a navy vessel in the last seven months.

Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi quit after the INS Sindhuratna deaths, accepting "moral responsibility" for that and other operational accidents involving navy ships under his watch.

The navy blamed that accident on "human error" and said that officers had "deviated from standard operating procedure".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26482473