55 Chinese sailors are feared dead after their nuclear submarine reportedly got stuck in its own trap and ran out of oxygen.
The submarine was snared by its own chain and anchor device meant to catch Western ships lurking off the coast of China, according to British intelligence.
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The Shang type-093 class submarine is said to have become stuck in its own chain and anchor trap
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The crew apparently suffocated on board after the Shang class type-093 submarine’s oxygen systems failed
The crew apparently suffocated on board after the oxygen system of the 351ft Shang class type-093 submarine failed.
It is not clear whether the trap damaged the oxygen system – or whether the crew had already suffocated before the submarine sank.
A UK secret report said the trap was designed to trap British and American vessels in the Yellow Sea off China’s Shandong province.
A chain and anchor trap is a huge anti-submarine net designed to stop enemy submarines.
The captain is believed to be among the 55 killed, as are 21 of his officers.
Beijing said news of the submarine’s destruction was “completely false”.
They also appear to have refused to request international assistance in rescuing the submarine.
The Chinese PLA Navy submarine is believed to be a high-end Type 093 equipped with torpedoes and silent “ghost” engines.
A confidential briefing obtained by the Mail reads: “Intelligence reports that on August 21st there was an accident on board while carrying out a mission in the Yellow Sea.
“The incident occurred at 08:12 local time in which 55 crew members died: 22 officers, 7 officer cadets, 9 non-commissioned officers, 17 sailors.”
A British submarine officer said: “It is likely that this happened and I doubt the Chinese would seek international support for obvious reasons.
“If they were trapped on the grid system and the submarine’s batteries were dead (probably), then the air cleaners and air handling systems could have failed.”
They then explained that this would subsequently compromise the air in the submarine, leading to “asphyxiation or poisoning”.
China’s 093 submarines, armed with torpedoes, have been developed over the past 15 years.
They are considered some of the more modern submarines in the Chinese Navy’s arsenal and six appear to be in service.
The intelligence report continues “The dead include Captain Colonel Xue Yong-Peng.
“Our understanding is that the death was caused by hypoxia due to a system failure on the submarine.
“The submarine struck a chain and anchor barrier used by the Chinese Navy to capture US and allied submarines.
“This resulted in system failures that took six hours to repair and surface the ship.
“The ship’s oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure.”
The Royal Navy declined to comment.
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Do you know more? Email Harry Goodwin: [email protected]
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education