Fire Breaks Out On Russian “Admiral Kuznetsov” Aircraft Carrier at the Barents Sea port of Murmansk.

December 12, 2019 Aircraft Carriers, Russia, Troubled Areas
David Cenciotti
Admiral Kuznetsov (Image credit: RF MoD)

At least two people unaccounted for. Images show Russia’s only aircraft carrier engulfed in smoke.

A blaze has broken out aboard Russian Navy’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, that is currently at the Barents Sea port of Murmansk for repair works. According to the latest reports by RT.com six people have reportedly been injured, two sailors and one worker are listed as missing, as fuel is still burning aboard the ship.

The blaze was sparked by welding, after which the fire spread to a space of 600 square meters an emergency services source told TASS news agency.

The Admiral Kuznetsov is a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser of project 1143.5, the only one in its class in the Russian Navy. It was launched in 1987 and it is named after the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union N. G. Kuznetsov.

This is not the first time fire breaks out aboard the aircraft carrier: on Jan. 7, 2009, a small fire broke out onboard Admiral Kuznetsov while anchored off Turkey during naval exercises in the Mediterranean with a group of Northern Fleet warships. Caused by a short-circuit, the fire led to the death of one crew member by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Considered that it’s dark in Murmansk in this period of the year, some videos of the fire circulating on social media are probably showing that incident aboard the aircraft carrier in 2009.

Admiral Kutsnetsov aircraft carrier engulfed in smoke. Considered that it’s dark in Murmansk in this period of the year, this photo, circulating on social media, is probably a screenshot from the video of the fire that broke out aboard the aircraft carrier in 2009. Current video is in the article. (Image credit: screenshot from Twitter/@flashnord)

We will update this story as more details emerge.

Update 1, Dec. 12, 09:30 GMT:

RT.com is reporting that, Aleksey Rakhmanov, head of the state-run United Shipbuilding Corporation, told Interfax that “a human factor” could be the cause of the fire.

Update 2, Dec. 12, 10:00 GMT:

New video coming from Murmansk:

 



About David Cenciotti
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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.