Hapless Indian Navy air carrier INS VIKRAMADITYA suffered fire on board in the morning May 8, in crew accommodation area. Fire was quickly extinguished by crew, according to Navy Command statement. Damage said to be minimal crew are reported safe. The ship is at Naval Base.
It’s not the first fire on board of INS VIKRAMADITYA, previous one occurred in 2019, another one in 2016 claimed 2 lives, not to mention numerous accidents and fires during ship’s construction, lay-up and rehaul in Russia.
Aircraft carrier INS VIKRAMADITYA is a sister-ship of infamous Russian aircraft carrier ADMIRAL KUZNETSOV, which is rumored to be scrapped soon, after countless accidents, including deaths and fires, hunting hapless ship throughout all her career. Renovation of INS VIKRAMADITYA in Russian Navy Shipyard was several years behind initial contract and several billion dollars above initial sale cost, plus corruption scandals. This is not the first mortal accident – at least two people, including a civilian, were killed and another two injured, following leakage of toxic fumes from the sewage plant on June 10 2016. A number of workers were injured or died during ship’s renovation, in Russia.
These ships are an ill-fated series, including Chinese (bought in Ukraine) first aircraft carrier, LIAONING (bought in Ukraine as VARYAG, Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier), recently recognized by Chinese Navy as a failure, full of “structural constraints and “congenital” defect”.
If there is an ill-fated family of Navy ships, Kuznetsov-class aircraft carriers family is the one.
INS VIKRAMADITYA, displacement 45400 ton, laid down in 1978, sold to India in 2004, commissioned in 2013, 36 aircraft including 26 fighters and 10 helicopters.
