Two nuclear-armed submarines, one British and one French, have collided while on separate exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, British newspaper reports said on Monday.
The nuclear-powered submarines were badly damaged in the underwater collision earlier this month, the Daily Telegraph said. No one was injured in the accident and there was no damage to the vessels’ weapons, the Daily Mirror added.
The French defence ministry said Le Triomphant, a nuclear missile submarine, suffered damage to its sonar dome, which houses navigation and detection equipment but was able to return to base at L’Ile Longue in Brittany.
The defence ministry in London said, “We can confirm that the UK’s deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety.”
Senior Royal Navy sources have indicated that the consequences of the collision could have been “unthinkable”. Each boat can carry up to 16 35-tonne missiles containing six warheads each with a range in excess of 5,000 miles.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) said the collision represented a “nuclear nightmare”. “The collision of two submarines, both with nuclear reactors and weapons could have released vast amounts of radiation. The dents visible on the British sub show the boats were no more than a couple of seconds away from total catastrophe,” said Kate Hudson, CND chair.
