Though the fire on INS Sindhurakshak was brought under control and prevented from spreading or damaging other naval fixed and floating assets in the vicinity, the vessel sank in the shallow waters around dawn Wednesday.
There are concerns about at least 18 sailors who were aboard the vessel.
A team of Indian Navy divers has been deployed since morning in an effort to rescue some of their colleagues feared trapped inside the sunk vessel.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D.K. Joshi will take stock of the situation even as a Board of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
