Fire on French nuclear submarine at Toulon extinguished

A fire on a nuclear submarine docked at the French Mediterranean port of Toulon was extinguished early on Saturday morning, the Defence Ministry said.

Some 100 firefighters had been called in to tackle the blaze on the Perle, which lasted 14 hours and ended at around 00:50 a.m. (2250 GMT). the ministry said. It confirmed an earlier statement that no nuclear material was aboard when the fire broke out on Friday.

Nobody was hurt and no nuclear materials or weapons were on board the vessel, which was in dry dock for repairs, authorities said on Friday.

Toulon is France's biggest naval base and is home to most of its fleet, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the nuclear submarines and other warships that escort it on its missions.