Russian Investigative Committee Starts Probing Fire On Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft Carrier

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2019) The Russian Investigative Committee said on Thursday it had opened a criminal case over the fire on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier under the article "violation of safety rules during construction or other work."

Earlier in the day, regional emergency services said that 10 people were injured in the fire aboard the vessel, which is docked in the northern city of Murmansk for repairs. The head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Alexei Rakhmanov, told Sputnik that the fire broke out during welding work near the first energy compartment, as a spark fell into a hold space where fuel was spilled.

"Investigative bodies of the North-West Investigation Department for Transport of the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over a fire on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier on the charges of ... violation of safety rules during construction or other works," the statement says.

The investigators recalled that the vessel had been transferred to the USC in April 2018, where the company's specialists carried out its scheduled repair.