Two nuclear submarines, one British and the other French, collided in the middle of the Atlantic, The Sun reported on Monday.
The crash between Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard and the French Navy’s Le Triomphant, both armed with ballistic missiles, is believed to have occurred on February 3 or 4, the British tabloid claimed.
The submarines were both damaged in the incident, but no one was hurt. Moreover, there were no reports of damage to the nuclear sections of either vessel.
Between them the submarines had 250 sailors on board.
A senior Navy source said: “The potential consequences are unthinkable. It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion.
“But a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster.”
The British sub has now been towed into Faslane in Scotland for repair. Triomphant meanwhile, has been hauled to Brest with reports of extensive damage to her sonar dome.
The Ministry of Defence refused to confirm the incident had taken place, saying it was against its policy to comment on submarine operations.
An inquiry is already under way.
France’s Atlantic coast is infamous for being a “submarine graveyard” because of the number of underwater vessel sunk in the vicinity during World War II.
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