Navy officer dies trying to rescue colleague

Mumbai: A Navy officer died while attempting to rescue a crew member who was washed away in the rough seas here on Monday afternoon, an official said.

Commander Firdaus D. Mogal, executive officer of the INS Sankush submarine, jumped into the rough seas to rescue a crew member but died of injuries, the official said.

The submarine was operating off Mumbai and preparing for an exercise just before noon Monday. At the time, one of the crew members performing a task on the surface of the submarine was washed away in the choppy waters of the Arabian Sea.

Seeing this, Mogal - the second-in-command - jumped into the sea to rescue the crew member, but sustained injuries and was also washed away in the heavy waves.

Immediately, the authorities summoned Indian Navy and Coast Guard helicopters for rescuing the two sailors and managed to pick them up safely.

However, Mogal succumbed to his injuries. He was married and is survived by his wife and a child.

The surviving crew member - whose identity is not known - is reported to be safe and stable, the official said.

Earlier, some unconfirmed reports said that five people had fallen into the waters, but an official spokesperson put the figure at two, of which one survived and one succumbed.

The Yellow-gate Police Station has registered a case and is investigating the matter.