A sailor injured in a fire that disabled a Canadian submarine died Wednesday of his injuries, Britain's Ministry of Defense and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said.
The diesel-powered submarine drifted in the Atlantic as British ships battled through rough weather to reach it and the 54 crew members who remained on board.
PHOTO: EPA
Britain's military airlifted Lieutenant Chris Saunders and two other injured sailors from the vessel earlier Wednesday. Martin said Saunders had died during the airlift but provided no further details.
"He gave his life serving his country and we owe his family our deepest condolences," Martin told Canada's House of Commons in Ottawa. "We pay him homage and we make known our deep respect to his family."
Rescuers had intended to take the three injured men to a hospital in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, but had to divert on short notice to Sligo, in the Republic of Ireland, because Saunders' condition deteriorated and he needed immediate treatment.
Officials had initially described the Tuesday electrical fire aboard the HMCS Chicoutimi as small.
But Commodore Tyrone Pile, commander of the Canadian Atlantic Fleet, said Wednesday it was "a major fire" that was worse than first thought.
Lawmakers in Ottawa observed a moment of silence in honor of Saunders, a father of two.
There was no immediate word on the condition of the two other crew members brought to Sligo for treatment, but the hospital said they were able to walk. Canadian officials said a total of nine people had suffered smoke inhalation from the blaze.
The six others did not require hospitalization and remained aboard the submarine, adrift about 185km northwest of Ireland. No injuries were reported among the remaining members of a crew that originally numbered 57.
The Chicoutimi was only four days into its maiden voyage as a Canadian vessel when it sent out a distress call Tuesday.
Three British naval vessels and two tug boats planned to tow the sub to a Scottish naval base, but a Canadian naval officer said rough seas might force any attempt get a tow line to the vessel until today.
The lead rescue ship, frigate HMS Montrose, reached the Chicoutimi at about 1pm on Wednesday, and pulled alongside to drop off medical staff and supplies and assess the damage, the Ministry of Defense said in London.
"They've got emergency lighting on board. It is probably going to get a little bit cold, but they have sufficient blankets and other means to keep warm on board the submarine," Pile said. "It's going to be uncomfortable with the movement of the sea."
An Irish naval vessel, LE Roisin, tried to reach the sub Wednesday but turned back after being damaged in heavy seas, the Irish Defense Forces said.
Another British ship laden with food and fuel and carrying a medical team and helicopter was also on the way.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
SKEPTICAL: Given the challenges, which include waste disposal and potential domestic opposition, experts warn that the 2032 nuclear timeline is overambitious Indonesia is hoping going nuclear can help it meet soaring energy demand while taming emissions, but faces serious challenges to its goal of a first small modular reactor by 2032. Its first experiment with nuclear energy dates to February 1965, when then-Indonesian president Sukarno inaugurated a test reactor. Sixty years later, Southeast Asia’s largest economy has three research reactors, but no nuclear power plants for electricity. Abundant reserves of polluting coal have so far met the enormous archipelago’s energy needs, but “nuclear will be necessary to constrain the rise of and eventually reduce emissions,” said Philip Andrews-Speed, a senior research fellow at the
RSS