Sea explosions is naval exercise: CM
pti, panaji | 16 February 2010 20:45 IST
Goa government today finally clarified that the mysterious blasts that were heard off state’s coast last week and today were due to Indian Navy’s trials on newly inducted fighter planes.
"There is no need to panic. Indian Navy has conveyed to the chief secretary that the loud sound was due to Mig plane trials off Goa coast," chief minister Digamber Kamat told PTI this evening.
Panic had struck the whole state since mysterious blasts in the Arabian sea had shaken up the people of South Goa on 11 February. Following this, similar loud blasts were heard today in the sea, off North Goa coast, especially in Pernem taluka.
The chief minister said the state has told Indian navy to hold the exercises little off the coast so that the residents of coastal areas are not baffled with the loud blast-like sounds.
Indian Navy is inducting Mig29K fighter jets, which will operate from Goa base and would be attached to Gorshkov, an aircraft carrier ship.
Sources stated that these jets procured from Russia were brought down to Goa in a knocked down condition in a transport plane and were re-assembled at INS Hansa, a naval base at Vasco.
After induction, the fighter jets would be operated temporarily from the shore-based facility at INS Hansa till the actual delivery of Gorshkov, rechristened as INS Vikramaditya, slated for 2012.
The tests have begun in view of reported visit of defence minister A K Antony to INS Hansa on 19 February.
