20 Deaths on Russian Submarine

(Vladivostok, Russia) Reported today, 20 people have died and 21 have been injured on the Russian nuclear submarine Nerpa during an onboard accident involving a fire extinguishing system.

The Akula II-class submarine was undergoing pre-commissioning sea trials in the Sea of Japan at the time of the accident. The boat was being prepared for delivery to the Indian Navy.



Nerpa - Russian Akula II Class submarine

According to Russian naval spokesman Captain Igor Dygalo, the dead victims included three officers and 17 civilian workers who succumbed to lack of oxygen when a fire-suppression system containing freon gas was inadvertently activated.

“The submarine is not damaged, its reactor works as normal, and background radiation levels are normal,” he added.

Dyagalo said that 208 people were aboard the Nerpa at the time, including 81 servicemen and plus naval technicians and workers from the Komsomolsk-na-Amur shipyard where the Nerpa was constructed. Fourteen civilians were among the dead, he said.

Russian press reports suggested that the accident happened near the bow of the ship as it was undergoing a test dive in the Sea of Japan near the huge Russian naval base of Vladivostok.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the Defence Ministry to conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the accident and provide the necessary assistance to the victims’ families.

There was no word on any possible Indian casualties, though some press reports last week suggested that an Indian Naval team of up to 40 persons would soon be heading for Vladivostok to familiarise themselves with the ship, which is due to be commissioned into the Indian Navy as the INS Chakra, under a ten year lease.

Indian Navy officials in New Delhi have so far refused to comment. However, former Russian Navy captain Gennady Illaryonov said that "a lack of gas masks among too many untrained civilians" may have added to the death count.

Another source said the K-152 Nerpa, a nuclear-powered submarine of the Project 971 Shchuka-B type, or Akula-class by NATO classification, had been under construction since 1991 and the project has experienced problems which led to a decline in work standards. In particular, workers were not being paid following the arrest of a shipyard shareholder last December.