Russian media compare 'cover-up' of nuclear submarine fire to Soviet attempts to keep a lid on Chernobyl after it emerges 14 sailors died 'after locking themselves in with blaze to save vessel'

The Russian government has been accused of a Chernobyl-style cover-up after refusing to disclose details about the submarine fire which killed 14 sailors Monday.

The blaze is thought to have broken out on the highly-secretive AS-12 submarine - nicknamed Losharik - which is powered by a nuclear reactor.

But the Kremlin has refused to name the vessel or disclose the cause of the fire, leading to comparisons with the 1986 nuclear disaster and Moscow's attempts to hide the full extent of it.

The Russian defence ministry has said only that the fire occurred on board a research vessel surveying the sea bed, and that it was fully extinguished.
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"The families of the 14 Russian servicemen who died after a fire broke out on a nuclear submarine have reportedly been told that their relatives averted a “planetary catastrophe” before they passed away.

A high-ranking military official is said to have made the comment at a funeral for the crew in St Petersburgh days after the accident in the Barents Sea earlier this week.

The incident remains shrouded in mystery after the Russian government refused to reveal the submarine’s name and its mission, claiming them as state secrets."

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I wonder what really happened, those are some big words to be sounding out. That under any other than truthful situation would be patronizingly preposterous.