Tragic friendly fire during Baltic Fleet drills claims lives
Dozhd, an independent Russian TV station, reports that during the Baltic Fleet exercises, the trawler "Captain Lobanov" was hit by friendly fire, citing a relative of one of the crew members. Official statements from Kaliningrad region authorities only mention a fire.
The incident took place on 19 March. It resulted in the deaths of three crew members and injuries to four others.
A relative of one of the deceased reached out to the station, indicating that a missile launched during the Baltic Fleet's exercises was the cause of the accident.
Authorities only mention a fire
Prior to the incident, the trawler crew members were preparing to sleep. Shortly after, the strike took place. Kaliningrad region's authorities have only acknowledged a fire onboard the trawler, leaving the causes of the incident undisclosed. They have also reported just one fatality.
"When the survivors were evacuated, it was well known that three people had perished. And it was clear to everyone that a missile was the cause. They chose to attribute it to a 'fire,' nonetheless. I'm curious about the nature of this so-called fire that completely obliterated the captain's cabin. It was simply annihilated," revealed a relative to the station.
"Advised against discussing the event"
The survivors were taken to a hospital in Pionierskij, with one person in critical condition. The source mentioned that in the hospital, the injured were questioned by officers from the Federal Security Service and were advised "not to talk about the event".
The authorities of the Kaliningrad region have pledged to provide around £10,000 to the family of the deceased and approximately £5,000 to those injured. Dozhd discovered through open data from the automatic ship tracking system that the "Captain Lobanov" might have navigated into the training ground of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet.
