An attack submarine on fire in the harbor of Toulon
(B2) An unusual fact, but feared by all sailors, a fire broke out this Friday morning (June 12) aboard a French nuclear attack submarine, the SNA Perle
A fire in the morning
It was 10:35 a.m., according to the maritime prefecture of the southern zone, when " a fire broke out in the forward area of the nuclear attack submarine, in the basin in the Missiessy area ". The S-606 (its hull number) was then in the maintenance and repair phase at the Toulon maritime base (1). " The submarine was evacuated. There are no injuries. » A major fire. It was still in progress at the end of the afternoon. The specialized teams continue to fight against the disaster in order to contain it “, Indicates a second press release from the prefecture received by B2 at 17 p.m.
All means mobilized
All available resources have been mobilized. The firefighters of the Toulon naval base have deployed a fireboat which supplies all the fire hoses. The firefighters of SDIS 83 (departmental fire and rescue service of the Var) and the battalion of marine firefighters (BMP) of Marseille (about thirty firefighters and 11 specialized vehicles) were called in for reinforcement. While a dozen sailors from the nuclear attack submarine squadron (ESNA) provide technical support to the sailors-firefighters working on board, in particular with the installation of " means of water supply and accompaniment in the submarine of the sailors-firefighters working on board ". As for the crews of the other submarines and of the underwater navigation school and nuclear-powered vessels (ENSM-BPN), they ensure " the means of protection from the quay and constitute a reservoir of intervention forces ».
No risk nuclear
Important clarification from the maritime prefecture: “ There is no nuclear fuel on board, it having been removed as part of the technical shutdown. There are no weapons (missile, torpedo, ammunition), nor batteries on board ". The fumes escaping are not radioactive ". And to specify that France has “ beacons, throughout the territory, capable of detecting any radioactivity anomaly ". In case....
Doubts about the future of the submarine
The fire aboard the submarine was extinguished Friday night to Saturday at 0:50 a.m., after more than 14 hours of burning, according to a communicated of the National Navy. Which bodes ill for the future. Given the extent and duration of the fire, we can have some doubts.
(NGV)
- The Rubis-class submarine had been in technical shutdown since January 13. Planned outage for maintenance and repairs (IPER in marine lingo).
