Powerful Soviet-era aircraft carrier catches fire in China

This is the latest incident for the decommissioned warship since it was converted into a tourist attraction in China.

The aircraft carrier "Minsk" is seen at port in Shenzhen on June 10, 2004. Photo: China Daily CDIC/Reuters

The Minsk aircraft carrier, which had been moored for the past eight years in a lagoon near the Yangtze River in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, caught fire while being refitted to become part of a military theme park, China National Radio reported on Saturday.

The fire started Friday afternoon and was extinguished about 24 hours later, the report said.

Images on social media showed thick smoke and large flames billowing across the deck, causing severe damage to the ship's structure.

“There were no casualties, and the cause of the accident is under investigation,” the report said, citing local fire officials.

Minsk was previously the main attraction at a park in southern China for 16 years.

Once part of the Soviet Union's powerful Pacific Fleet, the Minsk was the second of four Kiev-class aircraft carriers built by the Soviet Union between 1970 and 1987.

It served in the Soviet Pacific Fleet after being commissioned in 1978 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, after which it became the property of the Russian Navy.

Russia retired the ship in 1993, selling it and another ship, the Novorossiysk, to a South Korean company for scrapping.

While the Novorossiysk was being dismantled in the South Korean port of Pohang, environmental groups protested the Minsk’s presence in the country. The ship was later sold to a Chinese company and eventually transferred to developers who turned it into the centerpiece of the Minsk World theme park in Shenzhen, which opened in 2000.

The park struggled financially and eventually closed in 2016, with the Minsk being moved to its current location in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China.

Cao Phong (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tau-san-bay-hung-manh-thoi-lien-xo-boc-chay-o-trung-quoc-post308436.html