Deaths have been confirmed after an Indian navy submarine with 18 sailors on board caught fire and sunk at a Mumbai base.
After the fire, the boat became submerged at its berth in the naval dockyard with only a portion visible above the surface.
It is understood the fire was followed by three large explosions with lit up the south Mumbai sky.
India's defence minister A.K. Antony confirmed "navy personnel" had died in the incident but gave no more details.
"The cause of the explosion is not known. We are searching for the 18 personnel," added navy spokesman Narendra Kumar Vispute.
Many sailors managed to jump off the vessel when the fire and explosions took place and some of those are now in a military hospital.
The 16-year-old Russian-made submarine, INS Sindhurakshak, had recently returned from Russia after undergoing an overhaul and upgrade, according to reports.
Sky's Neville Lazarus, reporting from Delhi, said Navy divers have been trying to rescue the trapped sailors but so far without success.
There are also unconfirmed reports of missile parts being found on the dockyard, said Lazarus.
He added: "Analysts have been talking about there might have been a fire because of the battery in the submarine which might have caused the missiles (to explode).
The submarine is reported to have been completely loaded, either ready for a patrol or just back from one
In February 2010, the INS Sindhurakshak also suffered a fire while docked in Visakhapatnam city in southern India, killing a 24-year-old sailor and leaving two others with burns.
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