By The Associated Press=
Hundreds of U.S. and Soviet crew members have died in accidents involving nuclear-powered submarines since the first, the USS Nautilus, was launched in 1954. Here is a list of major accidents which have been disclosed to the public:
Jan. 26, 1998: Toxic fumes leaked from a life-support system on a Russian submarine at an Arctic base in Listafjord, on Russia's Kola Peninsula, killing an officer and sickening four sailors. There was no radiation leak.
Sept. 18, 1996: A North Korean submarine ran aground on South Korea's coast. Twenty-six North Korean commandos came off the submarine and went ashore, prompting a manhunt that killed 24 of the North Koreans and 13 South Koreans. South Korea said the vessel was on a spy mission, but North Korea insisted the submarine accidentally drifted into South Korean waters during a routine training mission. North Korea later apologized for the incident.
March 30, 1994: Superheated steam leaked inside the turbine room of a French submarine, killing the commander and nine other sailors during a naval exercise in the Mediterranean. The accident did not affect the vessel's nuclear reactor.
Feb. 25, 1993: The USS Memphis, preparing for a testing mission, struck a coral reef in 24 feet of water off the coast of Florida. The U.S. Navy later agreed to pay Florida $750,000 for environmental damage caused by the accident.
Nov. 22, 1990: Four fishermen died after a British submarine snagged their trawler's fishing gear and dragged the boat under water.
June 14, 1989: Heading home from the filming for the movie "The Hunt for Red October," the USS Houston snagged a tugboat tow cable and pulled the tug under about 10 miles off California. One of the tugboat's three crew members was killed.
April 7, 1989: A Soviet submarine, the Komsomolets, caught fire and sank off Norway, killing 42 of the 69 sailors aboard.
Oct. 3, 1986: A Soviet submarine caught fire and sank 600 miles east of Bermuda. The Soviets said three sailors died in the fire. A top Russian nuclear scientist later said nuclear warheads on the sub broke open, spewing plutonium into the Atlantic. U.S. experts said the plutonium had probably contaminated the sea floor but not endangered marine life.
April 1, 1986: The USS Nathaniel Green, armed with nuclear-tipped Poseidon missiles, ran aground in the Irish Sea. Although no serious injuries were reported, the damage forced the Navy to scrap the vessel.
Sept. 20, 1984: A Soviet Golf II class ballistic missile submarine was spotted drifting in the Sea of Japan with white smoke pouring from its stern. The submarine later was reported to have returned to its base in Vladivostok under its own steam.
Summer 1983: A Soviet submarine sank in the northern Pacific, killing 90 crew members, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
March 24, 1982: The USS Jacksonville suffered $2 million in damage in a collision with a Turkish freighter off the Virginia coast. Both were able to continue under their own power.
April 9, 1981: The USS George Washington, a missile submarine, ran into the Japanese freighter Nisso Maru, sinking the surface vessel off the southern tip of Japan and killing two crewmen from the Japanese ship.
Aug. 23, 1980: A Soviet Echo-1-class submarine caught fire and radioed for help off Japan. Japanese officials later reported that nine crewmen died and three were injured in what remains a mysterious accident.
May 21, 1968: The USS Scorpion, an attack submarine, was lost with 99 men aboard off the Azores in the Atlantic.
1968: A Soviet submarine sank off the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Sea, according to recently declassified CIA documents.
1968: A Soviet submarine sank in the Pacific, and subsequent U.S. attempts to recover the wreck were partially successful. Navy documents released in 1993 indicated that the vessel was probably sunk by one of its own torpedoes.
April 10, 1963: The USS Thresher was lost 220 miles off the New England coast with all 129 men aboard. An investigation found that the sub had gone into sea tests without adequate safety precautions.
1961: Members of a Soviet submarine crew died of radiation poisoning after an accident in the Baltic, according to recently declassified CIA documents.
(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
