Russia says nuclear sub fire contained, no radiation threat

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A grab from images released by Russia shows fire crew trying to extinguish a fire on board the Russian nuclear submarine Yekaterinburg docked at the closed Roslyakovo military area of the port of Sveromorsk Thursday

MOSCOW, Dec 30, (agencies): Russia Friday said firefighters contained a blaze on a nuclear submarine undergoing repairs near Norway after partially submerging the vessel, insisting there was no radiation threat.
The radiation levels around a burning Russian nuclear submarine were normal and posed no threat to the surrounding population in the northern region of Murmansk, the emergencies ministry said Friday.
"These parameters are within the limits of natural radiation fluctuation levels. There is no threat to the population," the Murmansk emergencies ministry said in a statement.
Navy officials said some crew were still on board the Delta IV class Yekaterinburg after the fire on the submarine's rubberised coating, the latest serious accident to have struck Russia's navy in the last years.
Following a succession of contradictory reports after the fire broke out on Thursday afternoon, the defence ministry admitted the craft was still burning and that the salvage operation may not finish until 6:00 pm (1400 GMT).
"The fire has been mostly put out," the Investigative Committee said in a statement. "There are only some localised combustion sources that pose no threat."
President Dmitry Medvedev dispatched Russia's military chief of staff Nikolai Makarov to the scene and ordered a full inquiry to identify those responsible for the Northern Fleet shipyard blaze.
Information about the accident in the closed military city of Roslyakovo came out only sporadically and officials had insisted on Thursday evening that the situation was under full control.
But fire fighters were still reported to be battling the blaze on Friday morning and it emerged that at least some of the ship's crew remained on board.
"A part of the crew is on board the submarine and is monitoring the temperature and carbon dioxide parameters in all sections of the boat," the defence ministry added in a statement.
The 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg-one of Russia's most powerful nuclear submarines-was undergoing repairs in the northern region of Murmansk, which borders Norway, when some wooden structures in the yard caught fire Thursday.
The emergencies ministry said seven firemen had been admitted to hospital after suffering smoke inhalation.
The Russian foreign ministry took the unusual step of issuing an official statement on the incident in which it confirmed the defence ministry's information and promised to issue prompt updates.
"The radiation levels, which remain normal, are being analysed across the entire Murmansk region by 59 fixed sensor systems and 25 portable stations," it said.
The Yekaterinburg was commissioned in 1985 and along with five other such vessels forms the backbone of Russia's sea-based nuclear defences.
It comes equipped with 16 inter-continental ballistic missiles and was last involved in a sea-based test launch in July.
The vessels is also capable of carrying up to 140 seamen and it was not immediately clear how many crew members were still aboard.
"Most of the crew has been evacuated, but some remain aboard the boat," Northern Fleet spokesman Alexander Grigoryev told the RIA Novosti news agency.
Crew still aboard
Some crew members were still aboard a Russian nuclear submarine ablaze early Friday after its hull caught fire during shipyard repairs but there was no radiation threat, officials said.
"A part of the crew is on board the submarine and is monitoring the temperature and carbon dioxide parameters in all sections of the boat," RIA Novosti quoted a defence ministry statement as saying.
The 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg, one of Russia's most powerful nuclear submarines, was undergoing repairs in the northern region of Murmansk near Norway when some wooden structures in the shipyard caught fire on Thursday.