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Sweden Investigates If Wreck Is Russian Sub

Shipwreck hunters have said the wreckage of an abandoned Russian submarine found off the coast of Sweden is likely one which ran aground following a collision in 1916, according to reports.

Footage showing the 22m long vessel lying on the sea bed in Swedish territorial waters was sent to the Swedish military on Monday.

Members of Ocean X Team, which made the discovery, said it was likely the wreck of an Imperial Russian Navy sub that sank with 18 crew on board after it hit a Swedish vessel, the Dagens Nyhter newspaper said.

An Som-class submarine was built in Vladivostock in 1904 and arrived in 1915 to be part of the Baltic Fleet, the report said. The submarine sank in poor visibility after it collided with the Swedish vessel SS Angermanland in 1916.

The Ocean X Team said Cyrillic letters on the hull of the wreck indicate it is Russian.

On their website, they wrote: "It is unclear how old the submarine is and for how long it has been at the bottom of the sea.

"The submarine is completely intact, has no visible damage to the hull, and the hatches are closed.

"Therefore, we do fear that the crew would not have been able to save themselves when the sub went down."

The captain of the Swedish ship claimed to have seen a periscope sticking out of the water 150m in front of him before it turned towards the ship and collided, the newspaper reported.

Last year, the navy said it had detected an underwater intruder - believed to be a Russian submarine - in Sweden's territorial waters.

This prompted the country's largest military mobilisation since the Cold War, but the hunt proved unsuccessful.

There have been several false alarms regarding suspected foreign submarines in Sweden over the years.

One of the most notable incidents was in 1995, when the Swedish military believed it had detected intruders in its territorial waters several times.

However, they were embarrassed to learn that many of the underwater sounds collected as evidence had been made by minks, a small animal from the weasel family.