President Putin: Russia suffered great losses in naval submersible fire

President Putin meets with Defense Minister Shoigu after the submarine fire. Photo: RT

“This is not an ordinary ship, it is a research vessel,” President Putin said at an emergency meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu after the naval submersible fire tragedy on July 1.

President Putin said the crew of the submarine were all highly qualified professionals. Putin called the loss of the 14 sailors a “huge loss for Russia and the Russian fleet.”

According to President Putin, two of the people who died in the submersible fire had been awarded the title of “Hero of Russia”, the highest honor of the Russian State, while the other seven sailors were naval officers with the rank of colonel.

President Putin instructed Minister Shoigu to personally go to Severomorsk, where the research vessel was anchored, to oversee the investigation into the cause of the accident, and then report back to the Russian leader.

A Russian navy deep-sea research submersible caught fire while conducting a planned survey of the seabed in Russian territorial waters. Fourteen sailors died from smoke inhalation.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened an investigation into the incident. The Russian Navy is also conducting its own investigation. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

The fire on the Russian submersible is believed to have been caused by a gas explosion, Norwegian Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority Director Per Strand said, citing unnamed Russian officials. According to Strand, Norway did not detect any unusual levels of radiation after the fire.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry denied the information, saying that the agency had not informed any Norwegian officials about the incident.