Police said two people were taken to hospital and advised residents nearby to remain indoors while urging there was “no nuclear risk” to the community.
A significant fire has broken out at nuclear submarine shipyard in north-west England, threatening to cause major delays to the rollout of Australia’s $380 billion AUKUS deal.Credit:Videos and pictures posted on social media showed flames and smoke at the 150-year-old BAE Systems facility in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The British defence giant – known for designing, developing and manufacturing weapons – has built and assembled the nation’s nuclear submarines on site since 1963.
Local media reported the fire was believed to have started at Devonshire Dock Hall, the vast complex where both Vanguard-class submarines and the state-of-the-art Astute-class submarines were built. Covering around 2.4 hectares, the hall is the second-largest indoor shipbuilding complex of its kind in Europe.
Australian politicians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles, have been regular visitors to the site in the past two years since the announcement of the Australia, UK and US deal. Under the deal, Australia will buy two second-hand nuclear-powered Virginia-class boats in the early 2030s, with a third arriving towards the end of that decade.The UK and Australia are also working on their own joint submarine project, known as SSN-AUKUS, with the custom-built nuclear-powered fleet to enter service in the late 2030s in the UK and early 2040s in Australia.
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