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Russian nuclear submarine fire contained but not out Russian nuclear submarine fire put out
(about 2 hours later)
A huge fire that engulfed a Russian nuclear submarine undergoing repairs in the northern Murmansk region is contained but not out, officials say. The huge fire that engulfed a Russian nuclear submarine undergoing repairs in the northern Murmansk region has been put out, the emergency minister says.
Firefighters battled the blaze for nine hours after it broke out on Thursday on a wooden deck near the Yekaterinburg. Sergei Shoigu said radiation monitoring would also now go back to normal after being stepped up when the blaze started on wood decking near the Yekaterinburg.
Officials said there was no radiation leak because the reactors had been shut down before repairs began. But nine people were injured fighting the fire. Officials said there was no risk as its two reactors had been shut down. Nine people were hurt fighting the fire.
Some of the crew have remained on board the submarine to monitor the situation. President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered an investigation into the incident.
They were monitoring the temperature and carbon dioxide levels, the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the defence ministry as saying. One of his deputy prime ministers has promised that the Yekaterinburg, a Delta-IV-class nuclear submarine, will be repaired within several months.
"According to preliminary information, the damage caused by the fire will not affect the ship's combat characteristics," Dmitriy Rogozin said.
'No radiation threat''No radiation threat'
Television pictures of the Roslyakovo dock which were broadcast on Thursday showed thick smoke billowing from the top of the 11,7400-tonne Yekaterinburg as personnel from 11 fire brigades, along with several helicopters and a navy fire boat, battled the flames. The Yekaterinburg had been inside a dry dock at the Roslyakovo shipyard - on the Barents Sea coast, 1,500 km (900 miles) north of Moscow - on Thursday when wooden scaffolding around it caught fire.
The fire was contained at 01:40 on Friday (21:40 GMT) and was expected to be put out "in the coming hours", the emergency situations ministry said. The blaze soon spread to the submarine's rubber-coated outer hull.
But on Friday morning, the submarine was still smouldering, and firefighters were still working at the scene, pouring water over the rubber-coated outer hull as well as the space between the inner and outer hulls, reports said. Television pictures showed thick smoke billowing from the top of the vessel as 11 fire crews doused the flames with water from helicopters and tug boats. The submarine was later partially submerged in an effort to extinguish the blaze.
"There are no open flames," a defence ministry statement said. However, emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by Reuters as saying that the fire had merely been "localised". The fire was contained at 01:40 on Friday (21:40 GMT on Thursday), according to the emergency situations ministry, but by the morning, the submarine was still smouldering, and firefighters were still working at the scene, pouring water over the outer hull as well as the space between it and the inner hull, reports said.
After several hours trying to extinguish the blaze, officials reportedly decided to submerge the submarine partially. The fire is believed to have started when wooden decking caught fire during welding repairs to the vessel, which had been hoisted into a dry dock. A law enforcement source told Russian news agencies that seven servicemen at the shipyard and two emergency ministry personnel had suffered from smoke inhalation.
A law enforcement source told Russian news agencies that seven servicemen at the shipyard and two emergency ministry personnel had been injured while fighting the fire. One report said they were suffering from smoke inhalation. On Friday afternoon, Mr Shoigu told a meeting of officials the fire had been "put out completely", and that there was "no open burning".
Despite the Yekaterinburg being one of Russia's most powerful nuclear submarines, radiation levels around it were normal, the Murmansk branch of the emergency situation ministry said. He said that the cooling of the submarine's hull would continue.
"These parameters are within the limits of natural radiation fluctuation levels. There is no threat to the population," a statement added. Mr Shoigu also said that "the heightened regime of monitoring the radiation situation" on board and in the surrounding area would be lifted.
The vessel's two nuclear reactors had been switched off before repairs were carried out at the shipyard, officials said. Its 16 inter-continental ballistic missiles, each with four warheads, had also been removed. Earlier, officials insisted the submarine's two nuclear reactors had already been shut down and that radiation levels on board and in the area were normal.
The Russian Navy's Commander-in-Chief, Adm Vladimir Vysotskiy, and Chief of the Navy Staff Adm Aleksandr Tatarinov have arrived at Roslyakovo to oversee the operation. "These parameters are within the limits of natural radiation fluctuation levels. There is no threat to the population," the emergency ministry said.
President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered an investigation into the accident. One of his deputy prime ministers promised the submarine would be repaired and return to service. The vessel's 16 inter-continental ballistic missiles, each with four warheads, had also been removed when the repair work began, officials said.
The Yekaterinburg is a Delta-IV-class nuclear submarine. It was commissioned by the Soviet Union in 1985 and can carry 16 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Some of the crew remained on board the submarine during the fire to monitor temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, they added.
The Russian Navy's Commander-in-Chief, Adm Vladimir Vysotskiy, and Chief of the Navy Staff Adm Aleksandr Tatarinov are at Roslyakovo to oversee the operation.
Safety on Russian navy submarines is a sensitive issue for the military following the Kursk disaster in August 2000.Safety on Russian navy submarines is a sensitive issue for the military following the Kursk disaster in August 2000.
The Kursk nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea off north-west Russia, killing all 118 seamen on board. Investigators concluded that an explosion of fuel from one of its torpedoes caused the sinking.The Kursk nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea off north-west Russia, killing all 118 seamen on board. Investigators concluded that an explosion of fuel from one of its torpedoes caused the sinking.