55 Chinese sailors reportedly died in August after their nuclear-powered submarine ran aground in the Yellow Sea, a tragedy reminiscent of the August 2000 Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea, which killed all 118 people on board. board, reports La Libre Belgique, reports News.ro.

Catastrophic failure of oxygen systems

According to a top-secret British report obtained by the Daily Mail, 55 Chinese sailors died after a submarine’s oxygen systems catastrophically failed, causing the crew to suffocate. The Chinese Communist regime kept this tragedy a secret.

The captain of the submarine “093-417” of the Chinese Navy will be among the victims, as well as 21 other officers.

It is believed that the tragedy occurred in the waters of the Chinese province of Shandong.

China has officially denied the incident. Also, like the Russians in 2000, Beijing appears to have refused to seek international help for its imperiled submarine.

The malfunction is believed to have been caused by hitting a mooring obstacle used by the Chinese navy to intercept US submarines.

“Intelligence reports that an accident occurred on August 21 during a mission in the Yellow Sea. The incident occurred at 08:12 local time and resulted in the death of 55 crew members: 22 officers, 7 cadets, 9 sergeants and 17 sailors. Among them, the deceased was captain Col. Xue Yong-peng. Their deaths are believed to have been caused by hypoxia due to a system failure on the submarine. The submarine struck a chain and mooring obstacle used by the Chinese navy to intercept US and allied submarines. This caused system failures, on it took six hours to repair and raise the ship. The on-board oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure,” said a British document quoted by the Daily Mail.

To date, there is no independent confirmation of the alleged loss of the Chinese submarine in the public domain, La Libre Belgique notes.

Beijing declined to comment on the speculation about the incident, calling it “completely false,” while Taiwan also denied reports posted online.

The Daily Mail tried to contact the Royal Navy for more information, but official sources declined to comment or provide further details.

However, a British expert who worked on the submarine offered the following explanation to the Daily Mail: “It is quite plausible that this happened and I doubt that the Chinese would have sought international support for obvious reasons. If they got on their own grid system and the submarine’s batteries died (likely) then eventually the air cleaners and air handling systems could fail. Secondary systems may have been activated but failed to retain air, resulting in asphyxiation or poisoning. We have a kit that absorbs carbon dioxide and generates oxygen in such a situation. But it is likely that other countries do not have this type of technology,” said the expert.

Chinese submarines of the 093 type entered service in the last 15 years. The ships are about 100 meters long and armed with torpedoes. Type 093 submarines are among China’s most advanced submarines and are known for their low noise level.