18 Indian sailors have been killed after an Indian Navy submarine caught fire and exploded at its home port of Mumbai.

 

　　The sailors were trapped on board when the fire broke out.

 

　　A number of other sailors managed to jump to safety before the submarine exploded and sank.

 

　　Fire fighters spent some four hours trying to put the blaze out before the explosion.

 

　　Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony is headed to the scene.

 

　　"Just now I am going to Mumbai to see the details there. It's a great loss to all of us, greatest tragedy of recent times. I feel sad about that. I feel sad also, about those navy personnel who lost their lives in the service of the country."

 

　　The cause of the initial fire is still unknown, though initial indications are suggesting it may have had something to do with the batteries on the vessel.

 

　　Its being reported the explosion which caused the sinking may have been caused by a torpedo onboard the sub.

 

　　The 16-year-old Russian-made submarine had just returned from Russia after undergoing an overhaul and upgrade in a Russian drydock.

 

　　It also had unspecified alterations in Egypt.