The Saint Daniel of Moscow was on the surface north of the Rybachy peninsula when a short circuit caused the fire on Wednesday. The men who died, aged 35 and 28, were asphyxiated. They were brought out alive but died during efforts to resuscitate them. A third man inhaled toxic fumes.

Admiral Vladimir Masorin said that the 16-year-old vessel had exceeded its deadline for renovation work. The Russian prosecutor-general’s office said that it had opened an investigation for “violation of a ship’s rules of conduct”.

Russia’s submarine fleet has experienced numerous such incidents since the collapse of the Soviet Union, notably the sinking of the Kursk in 2000, also in the Barents Sea. (AFP)

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