Fourteen Russian seamen have died in a fire on a deep-water research submersible, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday, amid local media reports that the vessel was a secretive nuclear-powered mini-submarine.
Russian officials have offered little information about the vessel or the circumstances of the accident, but the presence of many senior ranking officers on board could suggest that it was not on an ordinary assignment.
The defense ministry said that the 14 crew were killed on Monday by inhaling poisonous fumes after a fire broke out on a “scientific research deep-sea submersible” studying sea floor terrain in Russia’s territorial waters in the far north.
Photo: AP
However the Novaya Gazeta newspaper quoted sources as saying that the accident took place on an AS-12 nuclear mini-submarine, which is capable of going to extreme depths.
Russia had told the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) that there was a gas explosion onboard the sub, according to the regulator — a claim swiftly denied by Moscow.
“There has been a gas explosion, confirmed by the Russian authorities,” NRPA director Per Strand said. “We are waiting for information from the Russian side about whether there was a reactor onboard the submarine.”
The NRPA had not noticed an increase in radiation levels in the area, he added.
Russia’s defense ministry said that “there were no notifications sent to the Norwegian side regarding the Russian science research deep water apparatus.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full investigation into what he deemed a “tragedy” in the country’s far north, the latest in a string of disasters and accidents to hit the Russian navy.
“It is a big loss for the navy, and for the army as a whole,” Putin said of the accident, which has echoes of the sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000, which claimed the lives of 118 personnel and shook the first year of his presidency. “It is not an ordinary vessel, as we know. It’s a scientific research vessel. Its crew is highly professional.”
Putin said the victims included seven captain first rank officers — the most senior staff officers in the Russian navy — and that two had received the Hero of Russia award, a top title given out by the president.
The fire was put out and the vessel returned to a military base in the northern city of Severomorsk which is located on the Kola Peninsula above the Arctic Circle.
It is unknown how many were on board the sub.
A military expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, panned claims that the fire happened during scientific research.
“Usually it’s a cover for different types of work conducted on the seabed,” like laying cables, the expert said.
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