Ατύχημα στο υποβρύχιο HMS Tireless (21/03/2007 - Β. Πόλος)

[iason]

Κάτι λίγο διαφορετικό έτσι για αλλαγή:

Ανακοινώθηκε πριν από λίγα λεπτά ότι στο πυρηνοκίνητο υποβρύχιο HMS Tireless συνέβη ατύχημα με δύο θύματα αλλά χωρίς περαιτέρω συνέπειες. Δεδομένου του είδους του σκάφους και των λοιπών συνθηκών που επικρατούσαν, θα μπορούσε κανείς να πει ότι ευτυχώς αποφεύχθηκαν τα χειρότερα.

Αδιευκρίνιστο (για προφανείς λόγους) παραμένει το πού, πότε και πώς ακριβώς συνέβη το ατύχημα.

Πηγή:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6476959.stm

[sv1xv]

Σύμφωνα με το Defencenet το δυστύχημα οφείλεται σε έκρηξη μονάδας παραγωγής οξυγόνου και συνέβη κατά τη διάρκεια άσκησης στον Αρκτικό κύκλο κοντά στην Αλάσκα. Στην ιστοσελίδα του Royal Navy http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk δημοσιεύεται η ακόλουθη δήλωση του κυβερνήτη:

A Statement from the Commanding Officer of HMS Tireless

“Before I make a statement about the incident under the ice, I would like to take the opportunity to say that this has been immensely difficult for all of us in HMS Tireless. A submarine is a very small close knit community and we were devastated by the deaths of Leading Operator Maintainer Weapons Paul McCann and Operator Maintainer Weapons Anthony Huntrod. However our loss is nothing compared to that of the families and my people's thoughts and sympathy are with them. I would ask that after this statement the media allow my crew the opportunity to honour our fallen comrades without any adverse intrusion and with respect to both them and their families.

I am pleased to say that the crewmember who was injured in the same incident has now been released from hospital and flown back to the UK and I would like to say more about him later.

Firstly this happened under the ice in what is probably the most demanding environment for a submarine and in a compartment above the main sleeping area of the crew and while large numbers were asleep. Within minutes and despite the front end of the submarine being full of smoke, the incident had been contained and within the hour I was able to find and safely conduct a controlled surface through a gap in the ice therefore avoiding any damage to the submarine.

This was only achieved because my crew and every other submarine and surface vessel in the Royal Navy is subjected to the most rigorous training. This is constantly refreshed and the importance of vigilance and professionalism is at the core of our existence, this ethos has been vindicated by my ships company's response to this incident.

I am hugely proud of my entire ships company who acted in a totally professional manner throughout, dealing with the incident calmly and to the highest standards you would expect of the service. In particular I would like to mention our crewmember who was injured by the initial blast and thrown to the deck. He recovered himself despite his injuries, placed an emergency breathing mask on his face and in complete darkness and zero visibility, due to the smoke, extinguished the numerous small fires in the compartment and allowed access to the Fire fighting and medical teams. Due to the training received and the whole team effort the incident was contained and HMS Tireless was able to safely return to Devonport.

I look forward to the minor damage being rectified quickly and a return to sea as soon as possible. Secondly this explosion is a unique incident in a submarine of the Royal Navy and it is a testament to the design, construction and maintenance that despite this event and the small fire that ensued, no serious damage was done and the submarine could have dived almost immediately bar the need to deal with our casualties and check that there were no side effects for any of the shipʼs company. More significantly I achieved a six-day under ice transit without incident and with complete confidence in my submarine. The Royal Navy has been operating nuclear submarines for over forty years and has an exceptional safety record and the Trafalgar class submarine, of which Tireless is one of seven, and is the safest and most capable submarines in the world.

There will, of course, be a full investigation into the cause of the accident and into Royal Navy procedures for dealing with incidents such as this. If there are lessons to be learned, we will learn them, as this is at the core of our success and safety culture.

Finally I would like to thank all those who have been working so hard to support us, to our families and in particular for the assistance provided by the United States personnel at the Ice Camp and the Alaskan Air National Guard for their prompt evacuation of my casualty.

Good morning and thank you.”

Commander Iain Breckenridge

Commanding Officer HMS Tireless