At least 20 people have died in a fire on a Russian nuclear submarine. Another 21 were injured when the extinguishing system failed to work during sea trials, but navy officials denied there had been any radiation leak.

The Russian Pacific fleet spokesman Igor Dygalo said both sailors and shipyard workers died in the incident, which occurred off the eastern coast of Siberia.

The Russians claim that the submarine itself has not been seriously damaged. Military prosecutors are investigating the incident and it is regarded as sufficiently serious that both the deputy defence minister, Alexander Kolmakov, and the navy commander-in-chief, Vladimir Vysotsky, are flying to the scene.

The submarine, whose name and class have not been revealed, has been ordered to suspend sea trials and return to port in the far eastern Primorye territory, Captain Dygalo said.

“I declare that the reactor compartment on the nuclear-powered submarine is working normally and the radiation background is normal,” he said.

There were 208 people on board at the time, 81 of whom were servicemen. Twenty-one injured men were taken off the vessel by the support ship Admiral Tributs and transferred to port. The Tributs is normally stationed at the headquarters of the Pacific fleet in Vladivostok.

Reports say the incident occurred in the bow of the vessel. The nuclear reactor, in the stern, was not affected.

The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, is being kept fully informed about the incident.

Russia’s worst submarine disaster happened in August 2000, when the nuclear-powered Kursk sank in the Barents Sea. All 118 people on board died.

The latest incident comes as Moscow is ramping up defence spending and projecting its sea power into the world’s major oceans, even though its equipment is badly maintained.

The Russian navy announced recently that it will introduce a new long-range ballistic nuclear missile on submarines next year. The Bulava-M has been developed for a fleet of new strategic nuclear submarines.

Disaster toll

– At least 500 crew members have died in accidents on Russian nuclear submarines in the past 50 years.

– In the worst disaster, the Kursk sank in the Barents Sea in 2000, killing all 118 people on board.

– In 1961 the K-19 was struck by a leak in its reactor coolant, leading to the deaths of seven men on board and 20 more during the next few years. A fire broke out on the Komsomolets in 1989. Four crew members died in an explosion and 38 more either drowned or died from exposure.

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