14 sailors killed in Russian underwater vessel fire

Fourteen Russian sailors on board a submersible military vessel were killed after a fire broke out and they suffocated on the fumes.

The deep-sea research vessel was carrying out a survey in Russia’s territorial waters when the blaze erupted on Monday, the defence ministry was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

The fire was later extinguished and the submersible subsequently docked at the Northern Fleet’s base in northwestern Severomorsk on the Barents Sea. 

“Fire broke out on board a deep-water scientific research vessel that was studying the marine environment of the world ocean on behalf of the Russian navy,” Interfax cited a ministry statement as saying. “Fourteen submariners died as the result of smoke inhalation.”

A Russian news outlet RBC cited an unnamed military source as saying the vessel was a nuclear-powered AS-12 submarine, but there was no official confirmation.

An investigation was launched to establish the cause of the fire.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaeseen, reporting from the Russian capital Moscow, said the vessel’s research work involved carrying out “biometric measurements, looking at the layers at the bottom of the sea”.

“[But] this base is very close to the Norwegian border and it’s not exactly clear what the research these sailors were doing in the area was meant for,” she added.

The deadly incident echoes one in August 2000 when a Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk sank to the floor of Barents Sea after two explosions in its bow, killing all 118 sailors on board.