Pipe burst kills sailor on Russian nuclear sub

MOSCOW – A Russian seaman was killed in an accident on board a Russian nuclear submarine at a Pacific base, a navy spokesman said Friday.

The sailor, Dmitry Koval, received fatal injuries when a pipe burst, the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies quoted Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo as saying.

Dygalo said the accident occurred last Sunday while the submarine was docked at the Vilyuchinsk base in the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.

The accident damaged one section of the submarine but the vessel has remained fully operable, he said.

Dygalo identified the submarine as the K-223, Interfax said. According to Russian Web resources, the K-223 is a Delta-III-class sub built in 1980.

Russia’s NTV quoted Koval’s mother as saying naval officials told her her son was fatally injured in a gas explosion. Two other crewmen were injured, it said.