Two missing after Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing vessel off Goa coast

A fishing vessel collided with an Indian Navy submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast on Nov 21 evening.

While 11 crew members were rescued shortly after the incident, search operations are ongoing for the remaining two missing members, officials said.

Navy spokesperson in a statement said,"An Indian fishing vessel Marthoma with a crew of 13 reportedly collided with an Indian Naval unit on Nov 21 about 70 nm North West of Goa,"

Eleven crew members were rescued, and the search operation being coordinated with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Mumbai continues to find the two missing crew members, officials said. The Navy has ordered a high-level probe into the incident.

A Navy spokesperson said additional assets from the Coast Guard were mobilized and diverted to the area of the incident to intensify the rescue efforts.

The Navy has deployed six ships and many surveillance aircraft in the rescue mission.

The fishing vessel collided with a Scorpene class submarine - a crucial part of India's naval strength, capable of executing a wide range of functions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.

It has superior stealth techniques and low noise levels, making it a deadly and precise weapon, officials were quoted as saying.

The cause of the collision between the submarine and the fishing vessel is being investigated. In August this year, a fishing boat collided with a Sri Lankan naval vessel leading to the drowning of a fisherman off the coast of Tamil Nadu.