On April 7, 1989, the Soviet nuclear submarine "Komsomolets" sank in the Norwegian Sea. The incident killed 42 sailors out of the 69-member crew. The submarine sank at a depth of 380 m. in neutral waters.
On April 7, a fire broke out in the 7th compartment, where the main shaft and rudder are located, the real cause is still unknown, it is believed to be an electrical failure. At 11.12 a.m. the submarine announced an emergency signal and began preparing to surface.
At 11.37 a.m. the first SOS signal was also sent. The message was received on shore and after 8 "decodings" only in 12.19 p.m. the rescue operation begins.
Military aircraft arrive at the scene, and the crew struggles to control the situation. At 4.35 p.m., the pilots notice that the stern is starting to sink. At 4.44 p.m. water enters the command compartment, three minutes later - the whole thing is flooded; at 4.50 p.m. - the submarine commander reports “Evacuation of 69 people begins”.
At 5.00 p.m. emergency rescue platforms for 20 people each surface. At 6.20 p.m. “Alexey Khlobistov” arrives at the scene, who begins a rescue operation for the crew. The bodies of 16 people who died of frostbite and drowning are recovered, and only 30 sailors who survived. Three of them die on the way to Severomorsk, out of the 69-member crew of K-278, 27 people remained alive.