Russian submarine / O submarino russo

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O sistema de segurança contra incêndio de um submarino russo novo em folha foi acionado acidentalmente quando a embarcação era testada no Mar do Japão, exalando um gás que sufocou 20 pessoas e causou a hospitalização de mais 21.

A Marinha russa informou que o submarino não sofreu danos no acidente de sábado e retornou à base na costa russa do Pacífico sem necesidade de auxílio, no domingo. O acidente não trouxe nenhum perigo de radiação.

Embora seja o pior acidente naval russo desde o episódio do Kursk, em 2000, no Mar de Barents, quando explosões de torpedos afundaram o submarino, que ficou preso no fundo do mar, matando todos os 118 marinheiros a bordo, a superlotação pode ter sido um fator preponderante no acidente deste sábado.

O submarino em testes tinha 208 pessoas a bordo, segundo o porta-voz da Marinha, capitão Igor Dygalo, mas sua capacidade gira em torno de 73 tripulantes.

The fire safety system on a brand-new Russian nuclear submarine accidentally turned on as the sub was being tested in the Sea of Japan, spewing a gas that suffocated 20 people and sent 21 others to the hospital, officials said Sunday.

The Russian Navy said the submarine itself was not damaged in Saturday's accident and returned to its base on Russia's Pacific coast under its own power Sunday. The accident also did not pose any radiation danger, the navy said.

Yet it was Russia's worst naval accident since torpedo explosions sank another nuclear-powered submarine, the Kursk, in the Barents Sea in 2000, killing all 118 seamen aboard. Overcrowding may have been a significant factor on Saturday.

The submarine being tested had 208 people aboard, including 81 seamen, according to Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo. Yet Russian news agencies said a sub of this type normally carries only a crew of 73.