Observing that the Naval submarine explosion ahead of Independence Day celebrations has shocked everyone, DMK President M Karunanidhi on Thursday said the Centre should take all precautionary measures to prevent recurrence of such tragic incidents.
"This was the worst accident in the history of Indian Navy during non-combat time. The investigation should probe whether it was an act of sabotage.
It can also be a result of terrorist attack," he said in a statement, adding that the actual cause will be known only after the inquiry.
A conventional submarine of Indian Navy had exploded aftera fire on board and sank in the dockyard on Wednesday in Mumbai, in which 18 personnel, including three officers, are feared to have been killed.
Referring to Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi's statements who indicated there was little hope of survival of 18 personnel on board the submarine, Karunanidhi said, "if that is true, proper action should be taken to identify cause of the incident including why safety equipment failed to function."
Noting that the loss of the submarine was considered a "big setback" to the Navy, he said people responsible for the security of the nation should not be "negligent."
He said the "tragic incident" occurred just days after theproud achievements of the launch of indigenous aircraft carrier 'INS Vikrant', and generation of electricity using atomic energy in a submarine.
Karunanidhi urged the Centre to provide financial assistance to the families of the personnel who might have been killed. "I appeal that all precautionary measures should be takento ensure that such incidents do not occur again," he said.
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