8 Russian Engineers Climbed Into a Radioactive Reactor to Save Their Submarine — They Died Within Days While the Captain Feared a Mutiny

8 Russian Engineers Climbed Into a Radioactive Reactor to Save Their Submarine — They Died Within Days While the Captain Feared a Mutiny

The Soviet Union built the K-19 nuclear submarine to compete with U.S. nuclear submarine programs. Captain Nikolai Zateyev believed the K-19 was unfit for combat. Sea trials were riddled with breakdowns. On July 4, 1961, off the coast of Greenland, a faulty weld in the reactor coolant system failed. Reactor temperature climbed to 800°C (1,470°F). Eight engineers entered the contaminated reactor space wearing only light suits and oxygen masks. Th…