Chinese Sub May Have Caught Fire In South China Sea: Japanese Media

SPACEWAR

File photo of China's Ming-class submarines.

Tokyo (AFP) May 31, 2005
A Chinese navy submarine stalled apparently after a fire broke out aboard the vessel while it was submerged in the South China Sea, a Japanese newspaper said Tuesday.

The submarine was being towed Monday above the water by a Chinese vessel towards the Yulin Naval Port on China's Hainan Island, the Yomiuri Shimbun said, citing Japanese and US defense sources.

Japanese and US authorities have been monitoring the vessel, a Ming-class diesel-powered hunter-killer submarine. It was not clear whether there were any casualties, said the top-selling newspaper.

The accident occurred Thursday in international waters about halfway between Taiwan and Hainan Island. It was not known if the submarine surfaced on its own accord.

Three or four Chinese warships were spotted around the site of the accident, and another Chinese submarine was detected, which suggests that the accident may have occurred during a military exercise, the daily said.

The Japanese and US governments believe it will not have an adverse environmental impact on the area because the submarine was not nuclear-powered, the Yomiuri said.

A spokesman at the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force declined to comment.

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