Moscow: Nine people were injured when a huge fire engulfed a Russian nuclear submarine as it was being repaired, local media reported today, but officials said all weapons had been removed and there was no radiation risk.
Firefighters launched a massive operation to douse the flames after the blaze broke out yesterday on the 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg while it was docked in the northern Murmansk region near Russia's border with Norway, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky.
The fire was contained at 1:40 am today (local time) nine hours after it started and was expected to be eventually put out "in the coming hours," Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu said as quoted by Interfax news agency.
The defence ministry had said earlier that the blaze in the Roslyakovo dockyard near one of Russia's main naval bases had been extinguished.
The vessel had all its nuclear missiles and conventional rockets removed before entering the dock, Konashenkov had told state television earlier, adding that its two reactors had been switched off well in advance and there was "no threat of a nuclear radiation leak".
It is not yet known how the fire started, but a spokesman for the Russian military prosecutor, quoted by Ria Novosti, said a criminal probe had been launched into the "reckless destruction or damage of military assets".
"There is no threat to the onboard equipment," he added.
A special helicopter also doused the flames with tonnes of water from above, the Murmansk region's TV-21 channel reported.
The Delta IV class vessel was commissioned by the former Soviet Union in 1985 and can carry up to 16 inter-continental ballistic missiles, according to Russian press descriptions of the submarine.
Russia is believed to have six Delta IV submarines, which form the backbone of its sea-based nuclear defences.
Firefighters launched a massive operation to douse the flames after the blaze broke out yesterday on the 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg while it was docked in the northern Murmansk region near Russia's border with Norway, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky.
The fire was contained at 1:40 am today (local time) nine hours after it started and was expected to be eventually put out "in the coming hours," Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu said as quoted by Interfax news agency.
The defence ministry had said earlier that the blaze in the Roslyakovo dockyard near one of Russia's main naval bases had been extinguished.
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The vessel had all its nuclear missiles and conventional rockets removed before entering the dock, Konashenkov had told state television earlier, adding that its two reactors had been switched off well in advance and there was "no threat of a nuclear radiation leak".
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It is not yet known how the fire started, but a spokesman for the Russian military prosecutor, quoted by Ria Novosti, said a criminal probe had been launched into the "reckless destruction or damage of military assets".
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"There is no threat to the onboard equipment," he added.
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A special helicopter also doused the flames with tonnes of water from above, the Murmansk region's TV-21 channel reported.
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The Delta IV class vessel was commissioned by the former Soviet Union in 1985 and can carry up to 16 inter-continental ballistic missiles, according to Russian press descriptions of the submarine.
Russia is believed to have six Delta IV submarines, which form the backbone of its sea-based nuclear defences.
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