A number of sailors are still inside a burning Russian nuclear submarine while seven others have been rushed to hospital, suffering from toxic fume inhalation, it has been reported.
The submarine Yekaterinburg caught fire in the Roslyakovo shipyard in the Arctic mid-day on Thursday and fire services are still struggling to put out the flames.
Russian authorities insist there has been no radiation leak from the submarine and that its 16 intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles were not on board at the time the fire broke out.
Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told The Associated Press the fire had started on the wooden scaffolding and then engulfed the submarine's outer hull.
He said the fire had now been contained, and there was no danger of it spreading inside.
The Yekaterinburg is a Delta-IV-class nuclear-powered submarine built in 1984.
Footage from the scene shows firefighters dousing the submarine in water as plumes of smoke rose into the night sky.