14 crew killed in fire on Russian submersible

Fourteen Russian seamen have died in a fire on a deep-water research submersible, Russia’s defense ministry says, the latest in a string of disasters and accidents to hit the country’s navy.

The tragedy in the far north has echoes of the sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000 that claimed the lives of 118 personnel and shook the first year of Vladimir Putin’s presidency.

“On July 1, a fire broke out during bathymetric measurements on a scientific research deep-sea submersible,” a defense ministry spokeswoman says.

Fourteen crew died as a result of poisoning from the fumes of the fire in Russia’s territorial waters, the spokeswoman tells AFP.

— AFP