國際時事:印度潛艇爆炸 18水兵遇難

An Indian naval submarine armed with missiles and torpedoes exploded in Mumbai port early yesterday and sank, sending fireballs into the night sky over the country’s commercial capital and killing up to 18 sailors trapped on board.

印度一艘搭載導彈和魚雷的海軍潛艇昨日凌晨在孟買港發生爆炸後沉沒，導致至多18名被困的水兵遇難。孟買這個印度商業之都的夜空升起火球。

The navy immediately ordered an inquiry into the disaster on the INS Sindhurakshak, one of a fleet of diesel-powered Kilo-class submarines bought from Russia. A second submarine nearby caught alight, according to a fire officer, although the extent of the damage was not immediately known.

印度海軍立即下令對“辛杜拉克沙克”號(INS Sindhurakshak)的災難進行調查，該潛艇從俄羅斯購買，是一艘柴油推進的基洛級(Kilo)潛艇。據一名消防官員稱，附近的另一艘潛艇也曾起火，不過損毀的程度還無法馬上知曉。

If the blast was an accident, as suggested by the navy, the explosion would revive concerns about the reliability and safety of India’s military equipment and its maintenance procedures as it seeks to modernise its armed forces and compete with China in the Asia-Pacific region.

如果此次大火像印度海軍所暗示的那樣是一次事故，那麼它將再次引發人們對於印度軍事裝備的可靠性和安全性，以及裝備維護程序的擔憂。印度正努力對其軍隊進行現代化，在亞太地區與中國展開競爭。

The submarine that exploded had returned only months earlier from a refit in Russia costing at least $80m, which included equipping the vessel with cruise missiles.

爆炸潛艇數月前才從俄羅斯改裝完畢回國，此次改裝耗資至少8000萬美元，包括爲潛艇配備巡航導彈。

“I feel sad about those navy personnel who lost their lives in the service of their country,” said A K Antony, the defence minister, as rescue workers searched for survivors.

在救援人員尋找生還者時，印度國防部長安東尼(AK Antony)表示：“我對這些爲國捐軀的海軍士兵感到悲傷。”