Two British sailors were killed in an explosion aboard a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine in the Arctic Ocean. An injured crewmember was evacuated to a hospital in Anchorage, officials said on Wednesday.
The explosion occurred late on Tuesday aboard the HMS Tireless, which was submerged under an ice cap about 274km north of Deadhorse. The submarine was conducting a joint exercise with the US when its air purification system malfunctioned, British defense officials said.
According to the US Navy, a self-contained oxygen generation candle exploded. The attack submarine surfaced quickly and its nuclear reactor was not affected, according to the British Ministry of Defence. The Tireless does not carry nuclear missiles.
The injured sailor, whose name was not released, was transported by the Alaska Air National Guard from Deadhorse, in northern Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, to Kulis Air National Guard Base in Anchorage, 1,006km away, where an ambulance took him to a local hospital.
He was taken to Alaska Regional Hospital where he was in stable condition, hospital spokeswoman Kjerstin Lastufka said.
The Tireless was operating with the USS Alexandria in a joint operation to test submarine operability and tactical development in Arctic waters. The submarine's forward compartment was damaged in the explosion. The submarine was forced to surface quickly through the ice.
The equipment that failed had a 100 percent safety record, according to a Ministry of Defence spokesman.
The piece of air-purification equipment was fitted to the submarine as part of an update in 2001.
"I am deeply saddened at the loss of the crew members from the Tireless," said US Navy Vice Admiral Jay Donnelly, commander of the Submarine Force. "We stand by to assist in any way we can."
The Alaska Air National Guard in Anchorage received a call at 10:30pm on Tuesday alerting the Rescue Coordination Center of the explosion aboard the British sub.
An HC-130 refueling tanker was launched from Kulis 57 minutes later, reaching Deadhorse at 1:26am, said Kalei Brooks, spokeswoman for the Alaska Air National Guard. The HC-130 had about six people aboard, including two pararescuemen, a pilot, co-pilot and crew chief.
A private helicopter brought the injured sailor to Deadhorse. The sailor was then taken back to Kulis aboard the HC-130 where an ambulance was waiting.
"He was initially reported to have some burns," Brooks said.
Since 1986, every Arctic tactical exercise has involved both US Navy and Royal Navy submarines.
Lieutenant Colonel Andy Price, spokesman for the Royal Navy, said the submarine, while fully functional, will be evaluated over the next 12 hours to determine whether it will continue to be part of the joint exercises or return to the UK. Two weeks of exercises are scheduled to end on March 30.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not