BEIJING, May 2: Seventy Chinese sailors have been killed in an accident aboard a conventional submarine off China’s east coast, state press said on Friday.
Analysts described it as the country’s first reported major submarine accident since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.
The No 361 submarine was taking part in a drill near the Neichangshan islands off eastern Shandong province in the Bo Hei Sea when it was hit by mechanical problems, Xinhua said, quoting navy sources.
It said the vessel was being towed to an unidentified port, most likely Yantai, but gave no further details as to what the mechanical problems were or how the crewmen died.
It was not clear when the accident happened, although military chief Jiang Zemin sent a condolence message dated May 2 to family members of the dead officers and seamen.
Arthur Ding, an expert in the Chinese military from the Taiwan-based Institute of International Relations, told AFP the 361 were Chinese-made and there were four or five in service.
“These submarines are for conventional attacks, meaning they can launch torpedoes at rival submarines or attack surface warships, but cannot launch ballistic missiles,” he said.
Ding said he believed the accident was the worst in China for more than 50 years.
“Accidents may have happened in the past, but nothing was reported, at least not publicly reported,” Ding said.—AFP
