Preface
On April 24, 2003, a fishing boat in Weihai, the Dalang, discovered a nuclear submarine of unknown condition at sea, and the submarine turned out to be No. 361, which was found after being missing for many days.
Originally, they went to carry out an ordinary military exercise, but 70 naval officers had already lost their vital signs and were sleeping in the sea. What happened to this accident and why did so many brave warriors suffer such an unfortunate fate?
1. Fishermen found submarine No. 361 lying on the bottom of the sea
April 26, 2003, as usual, early in the morning. Fishermen fishing in the waters of Weihai discovered that a Chinese submarine was lying quietly on the bottom of the sea, motionless.
This is not an uncommon thing, and our submarines often carry out various secret missions in the nearby waters, which has long been familiar to fishermen. However, for several days in a row, the project 361 submarine remained unmoved, which is somewhat abnormal.
The fishermen were talking, speculating about where the submarine's anomaly came from. Among them, Lao Zhang, one of the most experienced fishermen, speculated that this was probably a new type of spy device dropped by the US and Japanese devils for the purpose of monitoring our military's activities in the sea area for a long time. Because similar incidents have occurred before, it was finally found that they were all evidence of the activities of foreign forces.
For this reason, fisherman Lao Li suggested that it should be reported to the relevant departments immediately. He expressed concern that if this continues, it will leak the secrets of our military or have an impact on national security. Everyone agreed that the security of the sea area is a matter of family and country, and they are not only fishermen, but also part of the border guard.
As a result, the fishermen immediately stopped their operations, rushed back to shore to use radio equipment, and reported the incident to the local coast guard. The report depicts in detail the location and appearance of the target being found. He also expressed concern that it was a new type of surveillance equipment dropped by hostile forces.
2. Seventy naval officers and sailors were met in the cabin
After receiving the report, the coast guard infiltrated the interior of the No. 361 submarine and was shocked by the sight of 70 naval officers and men suspended in order, their faces calm, as if they were asleep.
At the same time, the even more appalling news came that all 70 people had died of suffocation, 10 days earlier, on April 16. They have been sleeping at the bottom of the sea for so long, and no one knows about it.
The diver led by Lao Wang, had never seen such a scene, his hands trembled, and he desperately resisted the urge to vomit. These comrades-in-arms were smiling, but they had lost signs of life, and an indescribable sense of absurdity hit their hearts.
Joining Wang were two other young divers, Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li. At first, they thought it was just a routine mission. Who knows, a sordid sight of death awaits them.
Xiao Zhang is only 19 years old, and he has never experienced such a tragic scene. His eyes widened as he looked at the 70 corpses, his mind blank, and he didn't even have time to generate any thoughts. And although Xiao Li is 7 years older than him, he has never seen the fragility of life and the cruelty of sudden death.
The three of them floated silently in the cabin, let the icy waters blow. Only then did they suddenly realize that this originally warm space was now filled with only the breath of death.
Seventy living beings left abruptly, and their task now is only to present the scene of death in its entirety.
3. Causes of the accident: human negligence and submarine overloading
The Panel promptly launched an investigation. On the day of the accident, the No. 361 submarine needed to be recharged on the way back, and the intake valve should have been opened for ventilation, but the diesel generator was running with the valve closed, directly sucking out the residual gas in the cabin. Before 70 officers and soldiers could react, they died of suffocation.
There were two main reasons for such a major negligence: one was the operation error of the personnel, and the other was that the submarine was overloaded with 12 people at that time. Excessive personnel not only increase the load, but also make the boat chaotic and unmanageable.
After investigation and analysis, the expert group believes that the main human cause of the accident is the negligence and negligence of the personnel on duty. Lao Zhao, the operator at the time, was supposed to check and open the intake valve before starting the diesel generator. But I don't know if he was too big or ignored the regulations, he started the power generation process without fulfilling his inspection obligations.
This seriously violated the basic requirements for maneuvering submarines, and also laid a hidden danger for the tragedy that followed. Mistakes caused by human causes are the root cause of this accident.
And the overloading of the submarine at that time was also one of the important reasons. By design standards, the maximum crew of the Project 361 submarine is 58 people. However, on the day of the mission, for unknown reasons, an additional 12 crew members were added, a total of 70 people on board. Serious overloading directly leads to the deterioration of the cabin environment, overcrowded personnel activities, and then derives various safety hazards.
Fourth, the command center did not notice the cause of the accident for 10 days
What's even more unbelievable is that 10 days have passed since the accident occurred and it was discovered. The reason for this was that the Project 361 submarine was on a "silent sailing" mission at that time, and radio contact was prohibited throughout the whole process.
Due to the technical limitations at that time, the base could not locate and monitor the submarine in real time. Therefore, it was not unexpectedly discovered until 10 days after the incident, which is embarrassing.
When he learned the news, the commander of the base, Chen, once again scolded the relevant person in charge of the technical department. He stressed that if the positioning system could be equipped as required that year, then once the 361 exceeded the scheduled return time, the search and rescue should be launched immediately. How can it be like now, to put it mildly, the best time to rescue is missed.
However, the regret at this time is irreparable, and 70 lives have long been lost. Commander Elder Chen's eyes were red, he couldn't face such a consequence. The loss of life that could have been avoided will forever be entrenched in his future life, becoming an indelible demon.
5. Pursue responsibility after the fact to show severe punishment
After the investigation of the cause of the accident was clear, the relevant departments demoted and punished a number of military personnel. Among them, the highest-level targets of punishment are the deputy commander and political commissar of the Jinan Military Region.
It can be said that severely punishing those who fail in their duties is the best explanation for the sacrificed martyrs. At the same time, this has also fully exposed the weak links of our military in the management and operation of submarines, which need to be further improved and improved.
Zhao Dapeng, deputy commander of the Jinan Military Region, and Ma Shengli, political commissar, were demoted two levels respectively and subjected to organizational review. As the highest-ranking local military officers, they should be primarily responsible for the incident that took place in their jurisdiction. At present, the investigation of the circumstances of their crimes is still ongoing.
While strictly pursuing responsibility, the relevant parties also deeply reflected on the shortcomings in design concepts, equipment allocation, personnel training and other aspects. It is necessary to fundamentally eliminate such potential safety hazards and improve the ability to prevent them from happening again and avoid similar incidents from happening again.
6. Who will tell the truth about the lives that have been lost
Today, 20 years have passed since the tragedy of the No. 361 submarine. Our technology is advancing with each passing day, and our navy is already strong. But history needs to be told, and lost lives need to be remembered.
The 70 martyrs were unable to tell their families the truth, and their siblings and partners could not tell them what had happened. It is because they are eternally silent that we must tell the truth as a final tribute to life.
When the naval soldier Ma Chenjie died, his marriage to his wife had just begun. And his death made the already poor family even worse. What we owe them is the truth.
The dead are gone, but the living are like this. May the 70 young lives who have passed away all have eternal rest in the realm of the sea and the sky. They will also be grateful that someone is willing to tell the truth and fulfill their last wish that they cannot fulfill.
We will not forget the lives that have been lost, nor will we be able to fill the void they have left behind. But by telling the truth, we can immortalize these 70 brave soldiers who bravely guarded homeland security. This is what we owe them, and this is the last thing we can do.