Iranian navy’s largest ship SINKS after fire on board

June 2, 2021 Ava

The Iranian navy’s largest ship has caught fire and sunk near the Gulf of Oman.

A blaze broke out on board support vessel Kharg on Tuesday afternoon while it was on a training mission near the port of Jask, according to Iranian news agencies.

All crew members were evacuated to shore before firefighters attempted to tackle the blaze, but could not save the ship.

Kharg sunk into waters at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday morning after 20 hours of efforts to save it.

It is not clear how the fire started. Iran and Saudi Arabia have previously been involved in clandestine attacks on rival vessels around the Strait of Hormuz that can initially be reported as fires.

روابط عمومی منطقه دوم دریایی جاسک اعلام کرد در پی حریق در شناور خارک و پس از انتقال کارکنان به ساحل، با وجود ۲۰ ساعت تلاش همه جانبه به دلیل گسترش آتش در بخش‌های مختلف، عملیات نجات شناور پشتیبانی آموزشی خارک بی‌نتیجه ماند و این شناور در آب‌های محدوده جاسک آرام گرفت. pic.twitter.com/8J6y1Mhqi6

— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency)

June 2, 2021

The ship had around 400 crew and students on board when the fire broke out, a government spokesman told the Tasnim news agency.

He said around 20 people had received minor burn injuries before the ship was evacuated, and that nobody was seriously hurt.

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The spokesman added that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, and a statement will be made soon.

Photos circulated on Iranian social media of sailors wearing life jackets evacuating the vessel as a fire burned behind them.

State TV and semiofficial news agencies referred to the Kharg as a ‘training ship.’

The Kharg serves as one of a few vessels in the Iranian navy capable of providing replenishment at sea for its other ships.

It also can lift heavy cargo and serve as a launch point for helicopters.

The ship, built in Britain and launched in 1977, entered the Iranian navy in 1984 after lengthy negotiations that followed Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The sinking of the Kharg marks the latest naval disaster for Iran.

In 2020 during an Iranian military training exercise, a missile mistakenly struck a naval vessel near the port of Jask, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15.

Also in 2018, an Iranian navy destroyer sank in the Caspian Sea.

Meanwhile, in 2019, a series of explosions and fires on oil tankers linked both Iran and Saudi Arabia around the Arabian Peninsula brought the two sides close to war.

The blasts began in May when four tankers – two Saudi-flagged, one Norwegian-flagged and one Emirati-flagged – were damaged near the coast of UAE.

Then in June, the Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous were damaged in what was initially reported as a fire on the latter vessel.

American intelligence agencies backed by the UK and Saudi Arabia later accused Iran of attaching limpet mines to the side of the tankers, blowing holes in the hull which sparked the blaze.

In October, Iran then reported that one of its oil tankers had been hit by two missiles in the Red Sea, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, in what it said was a ‘terrorist attack.’

Then, the follow year, Iran was hit by a series of major fires that broke out on land – sparking rumours of sabotage operations.

The most serious blast took place in July that year at the Natanz nuclear facility causing significant damage, though officials said operations were not affected.

Another explosion hit a medical clinic north of Tehran last month, killing 19 people in what Iran said was a gas leak.

On June 26, an explosion occurred east of Tehran near the Parchin military and weapons development base that was also blamed on a gas leak.

Six other fires and blasts have also been reported, most of which have taken place around Tehran, but some of which have occurred further south.

A factory in Baqershahr, a power plant in Zergan, the Shahid Tondgooyan petrochemicals plant, and Bushehr shipyard have all been struck.

Two Iranian fighter pilots killed as ejector seats ‘smash them into hangar roof’

Two Iranian fighter jet pilots were killed on Tuesday when their ejector seats activated before take-off, smashing them into the hangar roof.

State broadcaster IRIB reported the F-5 fighter jet had a ‘technical problem’ that killed both the pilots, identified as as Kianoush Basati and Hossein Nami.

The report said the incident unfolded at Dezful Vahdati Air Force Base, approximately 270 miles south of the capital Tehran, and near the Iraq border.

According to BBC Persian, ejector seats were ‘wrongly activated’ for both the front and rear cockpit pilots. Both men ‘lost their lives due to a severe impact with the roof of the hangar’, the report added.

State TV channel IRNA said the incident happened before takeoff but did not elaborate.

Social media users identified Basati as a colonel and Nami as a lieutenant.

Source: Thanks msn.com