MUMBAI, Jan 19: Three sailors were killed and 11 others injured in an explosion on INS Ranvir, a Rajput class destroyer navy ship, at the Mumbai naval dockyard on Tuesday.

Arriving from eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam, the ship was anchored at the Mumbai dock when the blast occurred in an internal compartment at 4: 45 pm Tuesday.

An inquiry has been ordered. It was reported that a leak in the airconditioning led to the blast and those killed were in the nearby cabin. The situation was brought under control soon enough that further damages were averted, official sources said.

"The INS Ranvir has been on a cross-coast operational deployment from the eastern Naval Command since November 2021 and was due to return," sources said.

INS Ranvir is the first of the Ranvir class destroyers. It was commissioned into the Indian navy on April 21, 1986. The ships were built in the former Soviet Union. The Ranvir class ships have anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.