“The newest Chinese nuclear submarine sank near the shipyard of the Chinese city of Wuhan in late May – early June, but the Chinese authorities still do not recognize the fact of the disaster. It is not known if any of those who served on the submarine survived.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
The newest Chinese nuclear submarine sank near the shipyard of the Chinese city of Wuhan in late May – early June, but the Chinese authorities still do not recognize the fact of the disaster. It is not known if any of those who served on the submarine survived.
Source: The Wall Street Journal with reference to sources in the US Federal Government
Details: China’s submarine, the first in a new series of nuclear-powered Zhou boats, sank during final fitting at a shipyard near Wuhan, but Chinese authorities continue to cover up the incident.
Chinese officials have not confirmed the crash, and it is not known whether nuclear fuel was on board at the time of the accident or whether any of the crew survived.
The first signs of a possible disaster near a shipyard near Wuhan appeared in the summer, when former US Navy submarine officer and senior scientist at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Thomas Shugart noticed unusual activity of floating cranes in commercial satellite images. Later, Shugar reported that the cranes were used to rescue a sunken submarine.
The submarine was built by the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corp. and was seen docked on the Yangtze River in late May 2024 undergoing final outfitting prior to going to sea.
The publication writes that American officials did not record the taking of water samples by the Chinese side or environmental leakage for radiation.
The publication assumes that the submarine’s personnel died or were injured during the sinking.
Shugart said the risk of a radiation leak was likely low because the submarine was not out to sea and its reactors were not operating at high power levels.