(RepublicanReport.org) – British intelligence reports are claiming a Chinese submarine fell victim to a trap its military had set to catch US and UK subs. Fifty-five sailors died, according to their sources, but Chinese officials say the tragedy never happened. The communist country also failed to request international assistance in an effort to save the trapped passengers.
The submarine hit a “chain and anchor obstacle,” according to The UK Sun, and suffered a systems failure. The issue apparently took six hours to repair, leaving the crew trapped deep underwater until the ship was capable of surfacing. No one, including the ship’s captain, Colonel Xue Yong-Peng, survived.
Daily Mail reported that the event occurred in the Yellow Sea. Specifics on how the sailors died are still fuzzy, but experts believe something happened to the ship’s oxygen system that led to everyone on board asphyxiating. The trap could have damaged vital components, or the ship might have been submerged long enough to exhaust the batteries powering the air purifying system. Either way, the crew appeared to have lost access to clean, breathable air.
A British submariner told Daily Mail that their forces had kits soldiers could use to generate oxygen in such emergencies. However, China might not have that technology.
Submarines are vital to the region’s defense. Forbes explains that the ships would likely be the first line against any attacks from China or other rival forces. Hypothetical wars put subs as a deciding factor in their outcomes, which claim the US would emerge victorious — but with heavy losses to show for it.
China currently has 59 of the submersible vessels, whereas the US has 67, according to Wise Voter. North Korea blows both of those figures out of the water with 71. Still, the US Navy claims to have the dominant force, with 53 fast attack subs as well as 14 capable of deploying ballistic missiles and another four with guided-missile technology.
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