Blunders created 'bombs' that killed sailors on nuclear submarine

Last night ministers apologised, admitting the Ministry of Defence 'must accept responsibility for what happened'.

A board of inquiry found that chemical canisters used to generate oxygen on submerged submarines were so badly mishandled that they were damaged and contaminated - effectively turning them into deadly bombs.

Tragic loss: Servicemen Paul McCann and, right, Anthony Huntrod

Investigators uncovered systematic failings and senior commanders said they had not realised how dangerous they could be.

The inquiry also found paperwork was deliberately altered - possibly fraudulently - so that hundreds of canisters condemned as unsafe could be put back into the supply
chain. The blast took place aboard HMS Tireless during an exercise last March, killing Leading Operator Mechanic Paul McCann, 32, and his 20-year-old crewmate Operator Maintainer Anthony Huntrod.

Investigators found a canister exploded as the two men were activating it.

Identical canisters were involved in at least three fires aboard British submarines in recent years. Forensic-tests by Nasa - which uses similar-systems on the space shuttle - showed contamination with small amounts of oil can cause the canister to explode when lit, while cracks in the chemical mix increase the danger.

The inquiry concluded that was the cause of the blast and uncovered appalling blunders in the way the Navy stored and handled the canisters - which should be kept clean, cool and dry. Dozens were lying outside on a jetty in Plymouth before being loaded on to Tireless.

Worse still, a batch of 996 were declared unfit for use - but then taken out of a hazardous waste store and put back into the supply chain, with the relevant paperwork altered. Almost 50 of those canisters are still unaccounted for.

Alan Huntrod and Brenda Gooch, whose son Anthony died, said: 'If this was in any other walk of life, there would have been a prosecution for corporate manslaughter.

'This would not be acceptable on an oil platform, a chemical plant or any other workplace and it should not be acceptable on a submarine.'

Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth offered his 'unreserved apology' and promised the forces would 'leave no stone unturned' to prevent any repeat of the disaster.

HMS Tireless: Tragedy struck under the Arctic ice cap