Some local media reported that the submarine is nuclear-powered
\nMonitoring desk
\nMOSCOW
\nThe Kremlin on Wednesday said details of a fire that killed 14 crew on a deep-water submersible will not be made public because they include classified information.
\nThe seamen died on Monday in Russia\u2019s territorial waters in the country\u2019s far-north, but the disaster was only made public Tuesday.
\nOfficials have given little information about the vessel or the circumstances of the accident, with local media reporting the ship was a secretive nuclear-powered mini-submarine.
\nDefense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday there were survivors of the accident, without clarifying how many.
\n\u201cThis information cannot be made public completely,\u201d Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the disaster. \u201cIt belongs to the category of state secrets.\u201d
\nPeskov said that President Vladimir Putin was informed immediately after the fire.
\n\u201cIt is completely normal when this kind of information is not made public,\u201d Peskov said, adding that this was \u201cwithin the law of the Russian Federation.\u201d
\nPeskov said that \u201cno decision has been made\u201d about a period of mourning in the northern Russian region.
\nThe defense ministry said the 14 crew were killed by inhaling poisonous fumes after a fire broke out on a \u201cscientific research deep-sea submersible\u201d studying the sea floor.
\nHowever the Novaya Gazeta newspaper cited sources as saying that the accident took place on an AS-12 nuclear mini-submarine, which is capable of going to extreme depths.
\nThe presence of many senior ranking officers on board could suggest the submarine was not on an ordinary assignment.
\nMinister Shoigu was in Severomorsk, the restricted-access military port in the Russian Arctic, on Wednesday to direct a probe into the accident.
\n\u201cFourteen crew members died, the rest were saved,\u201d he said, quoted by Russian news agencies, without disclosing the total number of seamen who were onboard.
\nHe said the vessel was conducting \u201cimportant research on the hydrosphere of the earth\u201d in the Barents Sea and that those on board were \u201cunique military specialists.\u201d
\nAccording to Shoigu, a civilian \u201crepresentative of industry\u201d was successfully evacuated by the crew that acted \u201cheroically.\u201d
\nThe crew managed to evacuate the civilian after which they closed the hatch to halt the spreading of flames, he said.
\n\u201cThey fought for the ship to survive until the end,\u201d Shoigu said, adding that all the seamen will be posthumously given state awards.
\nThe governor of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Beglov said Wednesday that the crew was based in the city.
\nNames of members crew have not been officially released. By Russian law, publishing names of servicemen engaged in conflict or special operations is illegal.
\nPutin has ordered a full investigation into what he called a \u201ctragedy.\u201d
\nThe incident is the latest in a string of disasters and accidents to hit Russia\u2019s navy, with echoes of the sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000 that claimed the lives of 118 personnel and shook the first years of Putin\u2019s presidency.
\nDuring a meeting with Shoigu Tuesday, Putin said the submarine in question was \u201cnot an ordinary vessel.\u201d
\n\u201cAs we know, it\u2019s a scientific-research vessel, its crew is highly professional,\u201d the Russian leader said.
\nHe said the victims included seven Captain First Rank officers \u2014 the most senior staff officers in the Russian navy \u2014 and two have been awarded Hero of Russia, a top title given out by the president.
\nA military expert who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity rubbished claims that the fire happened during scientific research.
\n\u201cUsually it\u2019s a cover for different type of work conducted on the seabed\u201d like laying cables, the expert said.
\nThe fire was put out and the vessel returned to a military base in Severomorsk. It is unknown how many were on board the sub.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some local media reported that the submarine is nuclear-powered Monitoring desk MOSCOW The Kremlin on Wednesday said details of a fire that killed 14 crew on a deep-water submersible will not be made public because they include classified information. The seamen died on Monday in Russia\u2019s territorial waters in the country\u2019s far-north, but the disaster […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n