MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military says an unspecified number of the crew of a burning nuclear submarine remain inside the vessel and that seven others have been sent to hospitals after inhaling toxic fumes.
The Defense Ministry says there has been no radiation leak from the fire, which began Thursday at an Arctic shipyard where the submarine Yekaterinburg was in drydock. Fire brigades are still struggling to put out the fire at midday Friday.
The military says the fire began on wooden scaffolding, then engulfed the submarine's rubber-coated outer hull. It said the sub's nuclear reactor has been shut down and its 16 nuclear-tipped missiles had been unloaded before the repairs.
The ministry's statement left it unclear whether the crew members inside the vessel were trapped there or ordered to stay inside.
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