According to a report, the submarine sank on August 21 in the Yellow Sea, although China has disputed its loss.
A nuclear-powered submarine sank after being captured in a trap meant for American and British ships, killing 55 Chinese personnel. UK-based The Times cited leaked intelligence information from the British government. According to the outlet’s report, the incident happened in the Yellow Sea. Taiwan and China, however, both refuted the submarine’s loss. However, the PLA Navy submarine was identified as 093-417 in the British intelligence assessment, which also stated that on August 21, the crew was poisoned due to a catastrophic malfunction.
The report also stated that the captain and 21 officers were among the fatalities.
According to an article in The Times, the ship was believed to have run out of oxygen near Shandong province, which is located north of Shanghai, after becoming entangled in seabed defenses put in place by its own soldiers.
It described British intelligence officers as saying in the report, “Our view is that the fatality was caused by hypoxia (loss of oxygen) due to a system breakdown on the submarine.
The submarine ran into a chain and anchor barrier that the Chinese navy had set up to capture submarines from the US and its allies. This led to system faults that required six hours to fix before the vessel could surface. Following a catastrophic malfunction, the on-board oxygen system poisoned the crew, it continued.
The intelligence was highly secret, and there will probably be an investigation into leaks.
More than a month ago, rumors of the incident involving the Shang-class submarine started to circulate on social media, but Beijing quickly shot them down.
Six Type-093 attack submarines with a displacement of 6,096 tonnes and 553mm torpedoes are possessed by China. The Times reported that the nuclear-powered submarines, which were made to be quieter than earlier types, just recently entered service.