Russian Nuke Sub Crew Prevented ‘Planetary Catastrophe’

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Greg Bernhardt
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Anyone been following this story? Sensational or did we really narrowly miss a global nuclear disaster? What were the possible consequences of the fire spreading to the reactor?

The 14 sailors who died during a fire last week on a nuclear-powered Russian military submarine prevented a “planetary catastrophe,” a top naval officer said at their funeral, according to media reports.

Captain Sergei Pavlov, an aide to the commander of Russia’s navy, praised the heroism of the men, who died as they battled to stop the fire from spreading in the submersible.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nuke-sub-crew-prevented-planetary-catastrophe
 
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I don't think so. As long as the vessel was dove, the impacts of a meltdown should be contained to a small region of the ocean. As it was a research vessel, it hardly had nuclear rockets on board, and even if, could a fire ignite more than the rocket fuel?

My suspicion is, as it was said at the funeral, that it was mainly meant to comfort the relatives, rather than an actual description of the threat.

Wiki says we have currently seven confirmed losses of atomic subs, 2 US and 5 Russian, and none of it posed an immediate threat, although their machines will sooner or later rust and release radioactivity.
 
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The daily Kommersant, citing military circles, reported that the fire was apparently triggered by a short circuit in the control center, setting fire to cables or oil. Through the ventilation system, the smoke was then distributed to the other sections of the submarine. The crew did not have enough time to protect themselves. Only five surviving crew members had managed to extinguish the fire and bring the submarine back up.

The Kremlin had previously stated that it was a deep-sea submarine on a seafloor exploration mission. However, with senior army officers on board, it is believed that this was no ordinary mission.

(https://www.dw.com/de/russischer-u-boot-unfall-brandursache-klar/a-49469110)
 
Filip Larsen said:
In case anyone is interested, Ars Technica also ran an article on the accident:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...0-fathoms-the-fire-aboard-russias-secret-sub/
Wow, that's an unusual submarine! I didn't know that deep-diving subs like that existed. 6000m depth is pretty incredible...

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