Nuclear submarine runs aground - refloated

A British nuclear-powered submarine has run aground off the coast of a Scottish island, the UK Ministry of Defence said.

The incident involving HMS Astute happened near the Isle of Skye. There were no reports of any injuries.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We are aware of an incident involving one of our submarines off the Isle of Skye. This is a not a nuclear incident.

"We are responding to the incident and can confirm that there are no injuries to personnel and the submarine remains watertight. There is no indication of any environmental impact."

It is understood that the submarine's crew is waiting for high tide so they could free the vessel.

In June 2007 the mammoth £3.5 billion nuclear-powered HMS Astute was named and launched by the Duchess of Cornwall.

The submarine weighs 7,800 tonnes, equivalent to nearly 1,000 double-decker buses, and is almost 100 metres (328ft) long. Its Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles are capable of delivering pin-point strikes from 2,000km (1,240 miles) with conventional weapons.

A taxi driver with Skye Car Hire said: "From the angle I could see it, it looked like it was grounded out to the lighthouse.

"It looks like it has run ashore in shallow water by Eilean Ban, the wee island that the bridge goes across. You can see it very well from the bridge."

Scottish CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) expressed concern at the news the submarine had run aground. John Ainslie, co-ordinator of Scottish CND, said: "This is just the latest in a long line of incidents involving nuclear submarines off the west coast of Scotland. These vessels are regular visitors to the seas around Skye."

The submarine was later refloated in high tide.