A fire broke out aboard the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" while staying in a port in the city of Mormonsk • Three missing sailors and heavy smoke appear to be rising from the vessel

• Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" // Photo: AFP

Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" caught fire, apparently as a result of an accident, during port maintenance work in the northern state of Mormonsk.

Reuters reported that three Russian sailors were missing in the fire and that there was a concern for their lives. Large firefighters arrived at the scene during the night but failed to prevent the fire from spreading.

Published photos and videos show the huge craft with a huge smoke pillar rising from it, away from its dedicated mooring facility, with no apparent effort to put out the fire.

The "Admiral Kuznetsov" is the only aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy and the largest vessel in the Navy. It was built in 1982 but became operational only in the early 1990s. She is one of the five aircraft carriers built by the Soviet Union.

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In 2014, the aircraft carrier underwent a comprehensive upgrade and in 2017 embarked on an operational mission in Syria. In 2018, a large hole opened in the body of the ship after a crane collapsed aboard. Number of accidents