The Kremlin on Wednesday refused to reveal the full story of a fire that killed 14 officers on what was reportedly a nuclear-powered mini-submarine, saying the details of the tragedy were a “state secret.”
But apparently under pressure from critics, the defence ministry published the names and photographs of the victims who it said had saved “their comrades and the deep-sea submersible” at the cost of their lives.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said there were survivors of the accident, without specifying numbers.
The seamen died on Monday due to smoke inhalation, the defence ministry said, following the fire on a submersible in the Barents Sea in Russia’s territorial waters, but the accident was only made public on Tuesday. Two days after the tragedy the defence ministry described the victims as “true patriots” and top professionals, adding they repeatedly took part in expeditions to study the Arctic and plunged to “maximum depths.”