19-Year-Old Sailor Found Dead Onboard INS Vikrant, Suicide Suspected, Says Navy

A statutory Board of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident and a case has also been registered with the local police.

The naval sailor was found hanging in one of the warship’s compartments.

A 19-year-old sailor was found hanging onboard INS Vikrant on Thursday, the Indian Navy has said. The Navy said, as per preliminary investigation, it appeared to be a case of suicide, PTI reported.

A statutory Board of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident and a case has also been registered with the local police. The aircraft carrier is currently docked in Kochi, Kerala.

"Prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide. A statutory Board of Inquiry is being ordered," an official statement said.

A 19-year-old Naval sailor was found hanging onboard INS Vikrant in the early hours of 27th Jul. Prime facie it appears to be a case of suicide. A statutory Board of Inquiry is being ordered and a case has been registered with the local police: Indian Navy

— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2023

According to a PTI report, the unmarried sailor was from Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He was found hanging in one of the warship's compartments, reported Hindustan Times. The sailor was not an Agniveer but from the regular cadre. 

In April, a sailor was found dead onboard the guided missile frigate INS Brahmaputra during sea operations. The 23-year-old sailor, Mohit, succumbed to his injuries after an accident. Mohit was a Hull Artificer 4.

"In an unfortunate accident at sea on April 8, Mohit, Hull Artificer 4, aged 23 years, succumbed to injuries onboard INS Brahmaputra during operations at sea," a senior Navy official had told PTI.

The incident happened days after a marine commando from the Indian Navy's special forces died during a training exercise in West Bengal's Panagarh.

Chandaka Govind died while carrying out a para jump from an aircraft. In a tweet, the Indian Navy said Govind, a petty officer, lost his life while undergoing training exercise.

He is said to have gone missing after a routine drop from a C130J Super Hercules aircraft and was later discovered with a partially opened parachute in the West Bengal district of Bankura. His final rites were held on April 8 at his home in Vill Parla, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh.