Fire on board of Tomsk nuclear sub lands 15 in hospital

Fifteen military have had to be taken to hospital after a fire on board the nuclear-powered Submarine the Tomsk. According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the fire caused harm to the health of fifteen servicemen. All are undergoing a course of treatment at a naval clinical hospital. Military investigators have opened a criminal case over suspected power abuse committed in the process of installing a ballast tank. The fire that broke out at the Tomsk nuclear-powered submarine on Monday morning, had been extinguished soon after. It was initially reported by the press service of the United Shipbuilding Corporation that nobody has been injured in the incident. Russia's Defense Ministry’s special commission is investigating the cause of a fire on the Tomsk nuclear submarine, which is currently under repair at the Zvezda shipyard in the Primorsky Krai, the Defense Ministry’s press service reported on Monday. “According to preliminary data, the fire was caused by violation of safety rules during welding operations,” the press service said. According to the ministry, “A fire broke out at a dock of the Zvezda shipyard on Monday during repair work on the Tomsk nuclear-powered submarine. When the fire source was located, the personnel were evacuated from the dock; nobody was injured,” the Defense Ministry noted. It added that the submarine had been docked for repairs in 2009; since 2012 it has been undergoing repairs in a dock of the shipyard. “The nuclear reactor had been shut down before the submarine’s docking, and the weapons had been removed from the submarine,” the ministry added.