As per the latest developments, the Indian Navy has discovered the wreckage of PNS Ghazi, which is a Pakistani submarine. If reports are to go by, the newly acquired deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) of the Indian Navy recently located the wreckage of PNS Ghazi, a Pakistani submarine that sank off the coast of Vishakhapatnam on December 4, 1971, during the India-Pakistan war.
Originally a Tench-class submarine in the United States Navy, known as USS Diablo, the wreckage was discovered at a depth of approximately 100 m, nearly 2 to 2.5 km off the coast.
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Reports indicate that the Indian Navy has decided not to disturb the submarine, out of respect for the lives lost.
The sinking of PNS Ghazi was a significant event during the Indo-Pakistani war in 1971, which culminated in the creation of Bangladesh in 1972. Reportedly, the submarine, with 93 men on board (11 officers and 82 sailors), sank off the Visakhapatnam coast.
The US-made PNS Ghazi had been dispatched by Pakistan to gather information on India’s eastern seaboard and to target and sink INS Vikrant, a majestic-class aircraft carrier of New Delhi.
Departing from Karachi, Pakistan, on November 14, 1971, PNS Ghazi covered 4,800 km around the Indian peninsula to reach the Vizag coast. In response, India’s destroyer INS Rajput sank the Pakistani submarine using depth charges, although the Pakistani military asserts that the sinking was due to accidental explosions.
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PNS Ghazi is not the sole submarine resting on the Bay of Bengal’s floor near the Vishakhapatnam coast. The Imperial Japanese Navy’s (RO-110) submarine, which sank on February 12, 1944, in World War II off the coast of Rambilli locality in Vizag district, also lies nearby. Despite the presence of two submarines, the Indian Navy has refrained from intervening, respecting the belief that these underwater sites serve as the final resting places of courageous individuals. Veteran naval personnel assert that letting them rest in peace is a tribute to their sacrifice.