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On August 12, 2000, two large explosions occurred aboard the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk. The submarine sank to the seabed, killing all 118 sailors aboard.

Some crew members reportedly survived for a time in a rear compartment. Water had entered the compartment, and oxygen supplies were dwindling. A chemical fire was believed to have started after an air-purification tablet was dropped into the water, consuming the remaining oxygen. The survivors later died of asphyxiation.

The loss of Kursk is considered the deadliest accident in Russian Navy history.