Nuclear Submarine Crew Killed At Naval Base, British Police Launch Investigation

Pangkalan kapal selam Inggris Falsane. (Wikimedia Commons / POA (PHOT) / Julian Merrill / MOD)

JAKARTA - British police have launched an investigation into the unexplained death of a man who worked on the Trident nuclear submarine at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane outside Glasgow.

The deceased crew member was a junior crew member who worked on the Vanguard-class submarine, one of which carried the British Trident missile. His body was found in a barracks at the base, the Guardian reported, citing its sources.

"It is with sadness that we can confirm that a member of the Royal Navy has died," a Royal Navy spokesman said, citing Sputnik News December 11.

"Our thoughts and sympathies are with their family and friends at this difficult time. And we ask that their privacy be respected. At this stage, it is not appropriate to comment further."

Separately, a Scottish police spokesman said the man's cause of death was "currently being treated as unexplained" and that would be established through a postmortem examination.

To note, about 5,000 submarine crews reportedly manned the submarine. The identity of the man who died will only be known by the relatively closed community stationed at the submarine base.

The Faslane Naval Base is home to the entire British nuclear submarine fleet, including four Vanguard-class ships and an Astute-class fleet of so-called hunter-killer submarines.