The fire which had declared itself on board the nuclear submarine Perle, undergoing revision in Toulon, was extinguished in the night from Friday to Saturday, after 14 hours of struggle, announced the national navy.
The fire, which started at 10:35 am in the fore of the attack submarine in the dry dock for renovation, was put out at 12:50 am after the intervention of “a hundred firefighters and more than 150 people in support ", She specifies. The submarine, in technical stop in a basin of the naval base of Toulon had been evacuated and " no wounded is to be deplored ".
“ The nuclear risk linked to nuclear fuel is zero, the latter having been withdrawn as part of the technical shutdown. There are no weapons (missiles, torpedoes, ammunition), nor batteries on board, "said the French Navy.
The Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly is due to visit the site on Saturday.
No pollution
Friday, a representative of the industrial repair prime contractor, Naval Group, had described the incident as " serious ".
Last of the six French attack Ruby nuclear submarines to enter service, in 1993, "Perle" entered the basin in January for a renovation and modernization project which was to last 18 months and make it operational until the late 2020s.
Friday, the prefect of Var said that studies of the impact of smoke near schools near the naval base had " concluded that there was no significant air pollution " related to the fire.
For its part, the Independent Research and Information Commission on Radioactivity (Criirad) called for the authorities to be " vigilant ": " the absence of fuel (on board) does not mean that there is no radioactivity, ”said AFP Bruno Chareyron, director of his laboratory.
" No anomaly with respect to the level of natural radiation " was however noted on Friday between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on radioactivity measurement beacons installed at three sites in the vicinity. But the Criirad also noted on this occasion on a beacon measuring the Seyne-sur-Mer " oscillations of radioactivity " of a few hours, up to 139 nsiv / h, " disturbing " but prior to the fire , from the previous days. This phenomenon " may have several explanations but raises questions ", according to Mr. Chareyron.