Inquest after submarine explosion

The inquest into the two sailors' deaths will be held next month

Top Royal Navy officers are to face a public inquiry in Wearside over a nuclear submarine explosion which killed two British sailors.

Anthony Huntrod, from Sunderland, and Paul McCann, from the West Midlands, died on board the submarine HMS Tireless in the North Pole.

Officers ranked as high as admiral and senior civil servants have been asked to attend an inquest into their deaths.

The blast is believed to have been caused by a contaminated oxygen device.

A board of inquiry, which took place shortly after the explosion in March 2007, found the oxygen device had been contaminated with oil.

Questions have been raised as to how and why this happened, and there has been a suggestion that there was an inadequate appreciation of the risk of such contamination.

'Greatly missed'

After the accident, which also left another crew member with serious injuries, the Government issued an apology.

However, the coroner in Sunderland has ruled a full inquest is justified. It will be attended by 100 witnesses and is due to start in February.

Shortly after the explosion, the former First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West, told Radio 4's Today programme there had been no previous problems with the equipment.

The nuclear reactor of HMS Tireless was unaffected and the ship itself was not in danger, the MoD said.

At the time, Anthony Huntrod's family paid tribute to their 20-year-old son, saying: "He will be greatly missed by us for the rest of our lives.

"He was over the moon when he joined the Navy two years ago. He greatly loved the Navy and the job that he did."

He was buried with full Naval honours.