Russian nuclear submarine ‘on fire’ in Arctic dock
7 апреля, 2015 Автор:
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A Russian nuclear submarine has caught fire at an Arctic naval shipyard, Russian media report. This is reported by Coruption.Info.
It is not clear whether the fire on the Orel has been put out or contained, but its reactor does not appear at risk.
The blaze started at the Severodvinsk shipyard during repairs. The Oscar-II class vessel does not have weapons or nuclear fuel on board.
The sub joined the Northern Fleet in 1992, reports say, and on operations it is armed with anti-ship missiles.
A source told Itar-Tass news agency that the submarine's nuclear reactor was shut down long before Tuesday's blaze.
"The active zone of the reactor was unloaded at the start of repairs a few years ago," the source said.
There have been no reports of casualties.
"The fire has been prevented from spreading to other compartments of the submarine," said a spokesman from the Zvezdochka shipyard, quoted by Interfax.
Local media report that the blaze on the 155m-long (500ft) submarine began when some insulation material caught fire during welding work.
In 2011, the Yekaterinburg nuclear submarine was damaged in a huge fire during repairs in the northern Murmansk region.
Nine people were hurt fighting the blaze that started after the submarine's rubber-coated outer hull caught fire.