Russia’s only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, was caught on fire on Thursday, December 12, during work in Russia’s Arctic Sea port of Murmansk, as Reuters reports.
According to reports, six people are said to have been injured and one person is said to be missing so far. The fire erupted during maintenance operations in the first power unit and a thick plume of black smoke was seen from the upper deck.
The area the fire took place covers 120 square metres, with diesel fuel currently burning and firefighters using foam, in attempts to extinguish the fire.
As Russian news agency TASS informed, Admiral Kuznetsov is the Russian navy’s largest warship and its sole aircraft carrier capable of carrying horizontal take-off and landing aircraft. The warship made its first combat deployment in 2016, in the Mediterranean Sea, when its deck-based fighter jets delivered strikes in Syria.