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Russian nuclear submarine catches fire in Arkhangelsk shipyard
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A nuclear submarine has caught fire in a shipyard in Russia’s northern province of Arkhangelsk, Russian news agencies reported.
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
The emergencies ministry declined to comment on the reports on Tuesday of the fire at the Zvezdochka shipyard, where the agencies said the 949A Antei-class submarine was being repaired. There was no word of any casualties.
“There is a fire on the submarine. We are fighting the fire now,” a shipyard source told Interfax news agency.
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The RIA quoted a spokesperson at the shipyard as saying there were no weapons on board the 154-metre-long (500ft) submarine.
A source told Tass news agency the submarine’s nuclear reactor had been shut down prior to the blaze. “The active zone of the reactor was unloaded at the start of repairs a few years ago,” the source said.
The news agency reports said the fire had started during welding, causing insulation materials to catch fire.
Images of a fire at the shipyard began appearing on Twitter on Tuesday.
На судоремонтном заводе «Звёздочка» в Северодвинске загорелась подлодка http://t.co/RcHV1uZ09Q pic.twitter.com/eUwFguLYrx
ФОТО: В Северодвинске горит подводная лодка http://t.co/4k0l0F3gaJ pic.twitter.com/xMuYrLCuyX
A similar fire in 2011 nearly led to a nuclear disaster as a blaze engulfed a nuclear-powered submarine carrying atomic weapons, a leading Russian magazine reported months afterwards, contradicting official assurances that it was not armed.
