Russian expert hints gas mask shortage raised submarine toll: report

FLOATING STEEL

Stricken Russian submarine reaches port: shipyard
The Russian nuclear submarine hit by an accident that killed 20 people has put into port at Bolshoi Kamen near the far eastern port of Vladivostok, a shipyard official there told AFP. "The bodies of the dead have already been taken to Bolshoi Kamen, Vladivostok and Nakhodka" and included both military and civilian personnel, the spokesman for the Vostok shipyard in the port said. Bolshoi Kamen is situated about 40 kilometres (25 miles) by sea, or 130 kilometers (80 miles) by road, from Vladivostok, the Russian Pacific Fleet's home port. A separate vessel, the destroyer Admiral Trubits, earlier evacuated 22 people who were injured in the accident to Vladivostok where they were being treated in the fleet's main hospital, officials said. The accident, the worse Russian submarine disaster since the Kursk sank in August 2000, occurred Saturday when the submarine's fire extinguishing system was accidentally triggered, the Russian navy said. It was not immediately clear how the mishap occurred. Submarine fire control systems often use chemical fire-suppressing agents, and hospital sources said the injured had suffered from varying degrees of poisoning.

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Nov 9, 2008
A Russian expert said Sunday that a lack of gas masks among too many untrained civilians may have elevated the death toll in a Sea of Japan nuclear submarine gas poisoning disaster, a news agency reported.

Gennady Illaryonov, formerly a high-ranking naval captain and a specialist in maritime technology, told Ria Novosti that an over-reliance on automated procedures aboard the Nerpa potentially increased the scale of the tragedy.

Twenty people died late Saturday of gas poisoning on the vessel due for leasing to India, according to state media, and another 22 were injured in an accident that revived memories of the Kursk submarine disaster in 2000, which killed 118 crewmen.

"I cannot exclude that among those civilians who found themselves on board, not everyone had the (necessary safety) equipment and that those who did may not have known how to use it," Illaryonov was quoted as saying.

Autopsies showed the victims died from inhaling freon gas released into part of the submarine when its fire extinguishing system activated for reasons that are unclear, news agencies quoted Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the federal investigative committee, as saying.

Submariners are normally issued with breathing apparatus to protect them in the event the gas is released, as well as training in how to use it -- which Illaryonov said is essential.

"The entire crew of this type of submarine must be issued with this equipment and know how to use it. One can breathe through this apparatus for 20 minutes," he stated.

"In cases of light intake, an intoxicating feeling results, but if the level is raised, (the gas) is lethal," he added.

Illaryonov said today's Russian nuclear submarines were heavily automated, with crews of only around 70 -- half the numbers manning equivalent US submarines, he added.

Undergoing testing ahead of its transfer to India, he warned that the unusually high number of military and civilian officials milling around -- there were a total of 208 people aboard, of which just 81 were service personnel -- would be difficult to supervise.

He said there was a lack of skilled personnel and experience today.

"In the Soviet era, we built between three and five submarines every year," he added. "People are less prudent than they were, and have lost certain (safety) reflexes."

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us Digg Reddit

YahooMyWeb Google Facebook

Related Links
Naval Warfare in the 21st Century

FLOATING STEEL

Raytheon And US Navy Demonstrate UAS Capability For Submarines

Narragansett Bay RI (SPX) Oct 30, 2008
Raytheon and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport, has demonstrated an unmanned aircraft system capability for submerged submarines.

SUPERPOWERS Rice, Lavrov hold direct talks on US-Russia relations Outside View: Obama bad news for Russia Swords and Shields: Arctic ambitions China vows closer Latin American ties ahead of Hu visit	NUKEWARS US And NKorea Talk As Obama And Beijing Begin Discourse Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons 'unacceptable': Obama Israel urges US not to rule out military option in Iran US has no say in Kaliningrad missiles: Russia
MISSILE NEWS Vandenberg Officials Launch Minuteman III Missile USAF Awards Raytheon Contract Option For Maverick Missile Upgrades Raytheon Awarded Contract For Standard Missile-2 Production NKorean base could handle longer-range missile: SKorean minister	MISSILE DEFENSE Russia Offers Missile Crisis As Welcoming Gambit To Next US Admin NATO voices 'serious worries' about Russian missile plans Russian missile proposal 'disappointing,' US says Japan Eyes Own Early Warning Satellite
AEROSPACE China's air show saw four bln dollars in deals: report China plane-makers take first steps to rival global giants Aviation giants look to China amid global turbulence Boeing sees China buying 3,710 planes over next 20 years	UAV NEWS Honeywell Wins First Production Contract For T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle Aurora Wins USAF Contract On Vision-Based MAV Guidance Successful Live-Fire Testing Of Shadow TUAS DCNS Achieves Automatic UAV Landing On Frigate
IRAQ WARS US combat troops in Iraq battle to defend savings Dogs of War: Contractors and Obama Iraq UN Ambassador Expects Little On The Ground Change With Obama US To Cut Iraq Brigade Sooner Than Expected	MILTECH TenCate Presents New Lightweight Composite Armour Solution Boeing Celebrates 20th Anniversary Of First Avenger Delivery To US Army Raytheon To Modernize F-15E Radar Remote-Controlled Weapon Stations Delivered to Bundeswehr on Time

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement