Russia’s only aircraft carrier catches fire, with eleven people injured and captain missing as blaze breaks out during repairs
- The Admiral Kuznetsov caught fire today while in dock at Murmansk port, Russia
- Eleven sailors were injured in fire and Captain Viktor Izmailov ‘unaccounted for’
- Emergency services said the cause of the fire was ‘welding’ in the ‘power section’
Russia’s only aircraft carrier has suffered a massive fire that left 11 people injured and significantly damaged the ill-fated ship, which has been haunted by incidents throughout its service.
The fire on the Admiral Kuznetsov broke out during welding work at a shipyard in the Arctic port of Murmansk and spread quickly through the carrier’s internal compartments.
Emergency crews spent the day battling the blaze.
Thick black smoke was seen pouring from an upper deck on the vessel and Captain Viktor Izmailov – who was in charge of repairs – was reportedly ‘unaccounted for’ in the incident.
Thick black smoke pours from the upper desk of the Admiral Kuznetsov after it set on fire while undergoing repair work at Murmansk port, Russia
Authorities in Murmansk said 11 people were injured and 10 of them were in hospital in intensive care units. A lieutenant named Borovko suffered ‘gas poisoning’ as a result of the blaze, reports claimed.
‘The preliminary cause of the fire is welding,’ said an emergency services source.
‘The fire area in the first power section of the vessel has reached 1,292 square feet.’
Later, a report claimed the inferno had spread and now covered an area of 4,305 square feet.
Eleven people were reported to be injured in the blaze, with 10 of them in hospital in intensive care units
Eight teams of firefighters battled the blaze with foam as the fire spread throughout the ship
More than 400 people were on board when the fire began, state news agency TASS quoted a Zvezdochka spokesman as saying.
The Admiral Kuznetsov has been plagued by breakdowns and setbacks since its launch in 1985.
The massive blaze follows a 70-ton crane crashing on to the Admiral Kuznetsov’s deck in October 2018 when a mammoth floating dock holding the ship sank.
The crane left a hole of 215 square feet, and the loss of the dock significantly slowed down repairs on the carrier since the navy lacked another of comparable size.
Today’s fire will further push back the work to fit the ship with modern control systems and new weapons. The aircraft carrier had been undergoing repairs for more than two years in Murmansk.
More than 400 people were said to be on board the aircraft carrier when the fire erupted
The Admiral Kuznetsov (pictured) had been undergoing repairs for more than two years in Murmansk and suffered previous damage in October 2018
The repairs were expected to be completed by the end of 2020, with the warship rejoining the navy in 2021.
With its turbines belching black smoke, the Admiral Kuznetsov looks outdated compared with the nuclear-powered carriers of the United States.
However, the Kremlin has used it to project military might far from Russia’s shores.
Two years ago, the Admiral Kuznetsov was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean as part of Russia’s campaign in Syria, launching the first carrier-mounted attacks in Russian naval history.
It lost two carrier-borne fighters in incidents during the Syria mission.