Russian warship Moskva sinks in Black Sea, crew members safe

Russian Defence Ministry on Thursday said that its warship Moskva has sunk in the Black Sea while being towed amid a storm as the warship was badly damaged by heavy fire and the following detonation of ammunition.

"During the towing of the Moskva cruiser to the designation port, the ship lost stability due to hull damage, sustained during the detonation of ammunition because of a fire. Amid the heavy storm, the ship sank," the ministry said, reported TASS.

Russia's Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has been hit by heavy fire and the following detonation of ammunition, the Russian defense ministry said on Thursday.

"As a result of the fire that hit the Moskva missile cruiser, the ammunition has detonated. The ship has been seriously damaged," the ministry said in a statement, Sputnik reported.

The statement added that all the crew members had been safely evacuated, causes of the fire are being investigated.

The ship, whose initial name was 'Slava,' was laid down in 1976 in Mykolaiv and commissioned in 1983, the news agency reported.