Cigarette smoke could have triggered submarine mishap: expert By Vinay Shukla

Moscow, Nov 11 (PTI) Unauthorised smoking could have
triggered on the fire-extinguishing system that led to 20
people losing their lives on the Russian nuclear submarine, to
be leased to India next year, a naval expert said Tuesday.

The new theory on what led to the worst accident in
Russian navy's history came as top former naval commander
Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, described the massive death toll
on board a brand new submarine "gross unprofessionalism and
negligence".

Komoyedov, who is a sitting member of the Duma Defence
Committee has sought a thorough report from the defence
ministry and the military prosecutor about the investigations.

The various reasons being put out on the accident come
even as Russian officials remain tight-lipped about the lease
of the Amur class K-152 Nerpa nuclear submarine to India.

An 'unnamed defence analyst' quoted by the Moscow Times
said, "it was unlikely the accident would scare India away
from the deal, as none of the submarine's most critical
systems -- weapons and propulsion -- were revealed as faulty."

Pressing at the possibility of cigarette smoke triggering
the mishap, Chairman of St Petersburg club of submariners,
Capt (rtd) Igor Kudrin said a person might have lighted a
cigarette near a safety gauge switching on the
fire-extinguishing system.

"After its modification the fire-extinguishing system
(inclusion of automatic Freon release system) began reacting
to smoke and temperature above 70 degrees C. In principle it
could have been activated by cigarette smoke," Kudrin was
quoted as saying by 'Moskovsky Komsomolets' daily.

"Since it is very difficult to control civilians, may be
one of them, instead of waiting for his turn to go to smoking
room, lighted cigarette near a safety gauge," he said.

While older generations of submarines had fire safety
systems that were activated on the captain's command, new
submarines have systems that switch on automatically,
Kommersant quoted former submarine captain, Nikolai
Markovtsev.

An engineer at the shipyard in Bolshoi Kamen, in the
Maritime Territory, where the submarine was being tested, told
Interfax news agency that the fire extinguishing system had
also activated in the summer without cause, but the problem
seemed to have been solved.

The Duma Defence Committee has sought thorough report
from the Defence Ministry and Military Prosecutor about the
investigation, government daily "Rossiskaya Gazeta" reported.

"No one should board a submarine without a portable
breathing apparatus. Crew members literally sleep in them,"
former Northern Fleet Commander Vyacheslav Popov told
Interfax.

"It's another matter that civilians were not able, or did
not have the opportunity to put on this breathing apparatus."

Popular youth daily "Komsomolskaya Pravda" quoting one of
the 21 injured in the accident reported that all the civilian
technicians were provided with individual oxygen masks along
with instructions, how to use them. But they never had time to
wear them as Freon gas released by the system had an immediate
intoxicating affect similar to narcotics.

Russian Naval Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky had also
said Monday that all the systems including the nuclear reactor
were in perfect order and after ventilating the air in the
affected compartments it would be ready to for further trials,
pending the completion of probe by the weekend. PTI V.S.
RKM
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