Visakhapatnam, Mar 9: One worker was killed and three others seriously injured in an accident at the Ship Building Center on the premises of the Eastern Naval Command on Saturday, where indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant was built, and its two follow-on nuclear submarines are being built. This is the third accident involving the Indian Navy in the last two weeks.
The deceased was identified as Amar and the injured were identified as Vishnu and Amjad Khan. The identity of the third injured worker is yet to be established. All four workers were on contract, engaged by a firm working for L&T, the key contractor for the three nuclear subs being built there.
Navy sources in Delhi denied there was any incident aboard the Arihant. The contactor too refused to confirm or deny the accident, but the injured people were first admitted to the INS Kalyani Naval Hospital and later shifted to a corporate hospital in the city.
Sources said the accident took place between 2.30-3pm when the hydro pressure test (HPT) was being conducted in the pipelines of the building number 5, where the nuclear reactors are placed. Sources said there are scores of pipelines and cooling towers in the building, which is called the pre-docking area.
One of the pipes leading to the nuclear reactor burst during the test, resulting in Amar's instant death and grievous injuries to other three workers. The impact of the pipeline burst was such that Amar's face was completely charred, while Amjad received several injuries, including a fractured leg.
The contract firm had been checking for pipeline leakages over the past 10 days and using six lakh litres of water daily for the purpose. After the accident, the authorities evacuated the workers from the area.
"Even after taking precautionary measures at every level during the tests, the unfortunate accident took place," an employees at the site told TOI on condition of anonymity. The contractor has successfully completed two trials so far at the nuclear reactor, he added.
The miniature nuclear reactor on INS Arihant went critical last year following which the submarine is being readied for sea trials later this year.
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