Russian nuclear submarine catches fire

One of Russia's biggest nuclear submarines has caught fire while docked in the northern Murmansk region but no radiation leak has been reported so far, officials say. The 11,740-ton Yekaterinburg was undergoing repairs when the fire broke out, spreading fast from the shipyard's wooden structures to the submarine's outer hull, Northern Fleet navy spokesman Vadim Serga said on Thursday. A special helicopter was used in a massive salvage operation to douse the flames with tons of water from above. Emergency workers, 11 fire crews and a navy fire boat were involved in launching the operation. A defense ministry spokesman said that the submarine's two reactors had been switched off long before the repairs started and there was “no threat of a nuclear radiation leak.” “The power unit was switched off and is now safe,” defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Russia's Northern Fleet has had a series of small accidents, in addition to a deadly disaster in August 2000, when 118 seamen died on board the Kursk nuclear submarine when it caught fire and exploded while at sea.