Navy commander dies, 2 hospitalized after deadly gas leakage on warship at Mazgaon dockyard

The Defence Minister has been in touch with the Navy and MDL officials after the incident took place and asked them to monitor the situation closely, Ministry officials said.

Meanwhile, in a late evening release, the Navy said, "An incident of carbon dioxide (CO2) leakage was reported from Yard 12701 (Kolkata Class Ship) this afternoon whilst she was undergoing acceptance trials under Mazagon Dock Limited."

"As part of delivery trials by MDL, the carbon dioxide (CO2) fire fighting system was being evaluated and accordingly CO2 was to be released in one of the machinery compartments. During the trials, one of the system valves on the CO2 bottles malfunctioned leading to leakage of CO2 in the compartment," it said.

The Navy said Wadhwa inhaled the CO2 gas and was critically injured.

"A Board of Inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Navy to investigate the causes leading to the accident. Representatives from MDL will also be associated with the inquiry. The Department of Defence Production has also asked for a detailed report from MDL," it said.