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Washington, D.C./December 7, 0840 Hours |
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When the reactor of a Soviet nuclear submarine suddenly went haywire in 1961, Captain Nikolai Zateyev sent 22 volunteers to their deaths in a heroic struggle to save the ship. . . . The K-19 was a major technological advance for the Soviets, and engineers were so eager to launch the sub that they installed no backup cooling system. . . . During . . . construction, a welder dripped solder onto a pipe carrying coolant to the reactor, causing a microscopic crack. On June 4, 1961, while K-19 was hiding in the North Atlantic from Soviet diesel subs, the cracked pipe burst. . . . Zateyev organized three-man brigades of volunteers to work 5 to 10 minutes each. Protected only by raincoats and gas masks, they were ordered to weld a new cooling system. . . . Of the 130man crew, 22 died of radiation poisoning, 8 within a matter of days, the rest within two years. ''Right on the spot their appearances began changing. Skin not protected . . . began to redden, face and hands to swell. Dots of blood appeared on their foreheads, under their hair. Within two hours, we couldn't recognize them." |
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