Fell into a trap of his own making: Did China cover up a nuclear submarine accident that left 55 dead?

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Asphyxiation in the middle of the sea: Nearly the entire crew of a nuclear-powered Chinese submarine is said to have died in an accident in the Yellow Sea. A submarine fall and associated air system failure are believed to be responsible for the deaths of 55 people. This is evident from a report by the British secret service, the Daily Mail writes.

The submarine is said to have had an accident during a mission off the Chinese coast at the end of August. According to the report, the ship was caught in a trap intended to deter Western submarines. This would have caused damage to the oxygen supply, which the crew tried to restore.

Governments deny the incident

The submarine was only able to surface again after six hours, too late for the majority of the sailors. “The onboard oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure,” the intelligence report says. Accordingly, the 55 crew members would have included 22 officers, 7 officer candidates, 9 petty officers and 17 sailors. The captain, Colonel Xue Yong-Peng, was also killed in the incident.

The first rumors of an incident surfaced about a month ago. Back then it was still on social media and without any concrete information. It was also said that the accident occurred in the Taiwan Strait. However, the Chinese and Taiwanese governments denied all allegations.

Air treatment could have failed

So far, there is no independent evidence to support the Secret Service’s statement. The British Ministry of Defense also declined to comment on the case when asked by the Daily Mail. However, the British newspaper was able to speak to a submarine expert.

He says: “It is likely that this happened. If they were trapped and the submarine’s batteries were dead – which is likely – then the air purifiers and air handling systems could have failed.” In this case, the British have an emergency system, the CO₂ absorbed and provides oxygen. “However, other countries may not have such technologies,” the expert said.

China’s Type 093 submarines have been in service for the past 15 years. They are 107 meters long and can be equipped with up to twelve nuclear missiles. (jl)

Source: Blick