A publication of the British Daily Mail speaks of an accident with a Chinese submarine entangled in an anti-submarine net north of Shanghai in the China Sea.

According to the report, 55 Chinese sailors are believed to be dead, while the Daily Mail, citing a British intelligence source, claims the anti-submarine net was intended to trap British submarines.

©Daily Mail

“According to a UK secret report, the sailors died after a catastrophic failure of the submarine’s oxygen systems led to the crew’s poisoning,” the report claims.

The captain of the Chinese PLA Navy submarine ‘093-417’ is reported to be among the dead, as are 21 other officers.

Officially, China does not confirm the incident. It also appears that Beijing has refused to seek international help for its submarine.

The UK report on the fatal mission states: “Intelligence reports that on 21 August an accident occurred on board while carrying out a mission in the Yellow Sea.”

The incident occurred at 08:12 local time resulting in the death of 55 crew members: 22 officers, 7 officer cadets, 9 petty officers, 17 sailors. Among the dead is Captain Colonel Xue Yong-Peng.

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“The submarine hit a chain and anchor barrier used by the Chinese Navy to trap US and allied submarines. This led to system failures, which required six hours to repair and surface the submarine. The onboard oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure,” the British report claims.

So far there has been no independent confirmation of the loss of the Chinese submarine from official sources. Beijing has dismissed speculation about the incident as “completely false”, while Taiwan has not confirmed the reports.

The British Royal Navy also refused to comment on the reports, while the UK report, according to the Daily Mail, is based on defence intelligence and is highly classified.

A British Navy official, who has not been named, told the newspaper that “if they had been caught in the netting system and the submarine’s power unit had underpowered, then the air cleaners and air treatment systems could have failed. This could have led to suffocation or poisoning.”

China’s Type 093 submarines, among the country’s most modern submarines, entered service in the past 15 years. These vessels are 351 feet long and are armed with torpedoes. The sinking of the Chinese submarine, according to the British, reportedly took place off China’s Shandong province.

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