Mumbai, January 31
The Navy warship, which collided with a merchant vessel yesterday afternoon off the Mumbai harbour, sank today. The vessel was carrying around 300 tonne of fuel and some of it spilled into the sea after the crash. Efforts were on to prevent the spillage from spreading, sources said.

According to Coast Guard officials, the warship, INS Vindhyagiri, had suffered a severe damage to its hull, while there wasn’t much damage to the merchant vessel, MV Nordlake.

According to the naval authorities, the warship was returning to the shore and had Navy personnel and their families onboard, besides some civilians. All of them were evacuated safely.

The ammunition aboard the ship was also safely removed.

Coast Guard officials said a fire broke out inside the ship around 4.30 am. Fire tenders were deployed, but the ship sank after catching fire, they added.

The Captain of MV Nordlake told investigators that the merchant vessel veered into the path of the naval ship while trying to avoid a collision with another vessel. The mishap occurred near the Sunk Rock Lighthouse.