Russia’s only aircraft carrier burst into flames on Thursday while undergoing repairs in the port of Murmansk.Five people were injured, three are unaccounted for, and six were saved from the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russian state news agencies TASS and Interfax reported.The Kuznetsov was under repair in the Arctic port of Murmansk after it was seriously damaged by a crane that toppled over and smashed a 214-square-foot hole into its hull in October.Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories. Russia’s only aircraft carrier, which has regularly been described as the worst in the world, burst into flames on Thursday while undergoing repairs.Five people are injured, three are unaccounted for, and six were saved from the Admiral Kuznetsov, which was at port in Murmansk, according to reports from Russian state news agencies TASS and Interfax.”We cannot establish a connection with them,” a source told Interfax of the three missing people.TASS reported that the fire started in the engine room on the second deck, then has spread to the size of 600 square meters.—Atlantide (@Atlantide4world) December 12, 2019Firefighters are battling the blaze with limited success, according to the news agencies.Aleksey Rakhmanov, head of the state-run United Shipbuilding Corporation, told Interfax that “a human factor” may have caused the fire.The aircraft carrier was undergoing major repairs at Russia’s Arctic port in Murmansk, also known as the Barents Sea port.The ship was seriously damaged in October, when a crane toppled over and smashed a 214-square-foot hole in the hull.
A photo taken from a Norwegian surveillance aircraft shows Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in international waters off the coast of Northern Norway on October 17, 2016.
Reuters
The aircraft carrier is has long been beset with operational problems. On a 2016 mission in Syria, the carrier saw the loss of two onboard fighter jets in just three weeks.
