Nerpa nuclear sub captain found not guilty of deaths of 20 people

Photo: Source: Itar-Tass

The Pacific Fleet military court found Dmitry Grobovoy and Dmitry Lavrentiev not guilty in the accident at nuclear submarine Nerpa.

Former commander of the submarine, Dmitry Lavrentiev, was accused of power abuse and causing death of two or more persons by negligence. According to investigators, before the sub was tested, Lavrentyev had not provided the training to crewmembers to teach them how to use the new equipment and how to act in emergency situations.

In turn, Dmitry Grobovoy, the captain of the hold, who activated the fire suppression system, was said to be the person who caused the accident to occur.

​​On November 8, 2008, during factory tests in the Sea of ​​Japan, the automatic fire suppression system on board the Nerpa submarine was activated accidentally. Twenty people were killed and 38 others suffered from Freon and tetrachlorethylene poisoning. Among the killed, there were 17 civilians and three military men.

Meanwhile, prosecutors have already announced their intention to appeal against the acquittal of Grobovoy and Lavrentiev.