MOSCOW

14 Russian seamen have been killed in a fire on a military submersible, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The accident took place on Monday in Russian territorial waters, the ministry said in a statement.

"On July 1, in Russian territorial waters a deep submersible designed to study the sea floor and the bottom of the world oceans in the interests of the Russian Navy caught fire during biometric measurements. Fourteen military divers were killed, asphyxiated by the fire's fumes," the statement said.

The crew then put out the fire, it added.

The site of the incident was not specified, but after the emergency containment, the deep submersible was delivered to the port of Severomorsk in the Barents Sea.