Second Fire in 2 Years Onboard India’s INS Vikramaditya Aircraft Carrier

A minor fire broke out onboard the Indian Navy’s INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier early Saturday, making it the second such incident in two years.

The fire has now been put out and no one was hurt in the incident, the Navy said.

“The duty staff observed smoke emanating from the part of the warship having accommodation for sailors. The ship’s duty personnel acted promptly to fight the fire. All personnel on board have been accounted for and no major damage has been reported,” a Navy spokesperson said.

An inquiry into the incident is being ordered, he said, adding that the aircraft carrier is in Karnataka's Karwar harbour.

On 26 April 2019, one naval officer died of smoke inhalation and seven others were injured after fighting a fire that erupted in the boiler room of INS Vikramaditya.

Three years before that, in mid-2016, two people were killed by a toxic gas leak that occurred during maintenance work in the Sewage Treatment Plant compartment of INS Vikramaditya at Karwar.

A MiG-29K aircraft that took off from the aircraft carrier made an emergency landing at Mangalore International Airport due to hydraulic failure in February 2017.

INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier

The warship is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier purchased by India from Russia in 2013. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet Union and Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996, for being too expensive to operate.

INS Vikramaditya has an overall length of 284 metres and a maximum beam of 60 metres, stretching as much as three football fields put together.

Standing about 20 storeys tall from the keel to the highest point, the ship has a total of 22 decks and carries around 1,600 personnel.