A fire broke out in China on the former Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk, which was sold to Chinese entrepreneurs in 1998.

The Chinese newspaper The Paper reported that the aircraft carrier caught fire during repairs.

The first to report a fire on the Yangtze River during the dismantling and renovation of the aircraft carrier was the fire and rescue team of the Su-Tong Science & Technology Park.

According to the data, the fire started on August 16 at 4:00 p.m. local time. It was emphasized that no one had been injured in the fire.

The aircraft carrier Minsk once belonged to the USSR Navy. The aircraft carrier was sold to the South Korean company Daewoo Heavy Industries Group when it was decommissioned in 1993.

Five years later, a Chinese company bought Minsk from the Koreans and built a military theme park in the Yantian district of Shenzhen.

In January 2013, the Dalian Yongjia Group acquired an aircraft carrier and then signed an agreement to invest in a tourist resort on the carrier with a science and technology industrial park.

In 2016, the aircraft carrier Minsk was transferred from Shenzhen to Nantong. The aircraft carrier was placed for tourists on the territory of Su-Tong Science & Technology Park.

A special berth was built for the ship, from which the entrance to the lobby and cinema hall in the hangar was made.

The premises of the aircraft carrier Minsk are decorated as cabins and combat posts, as well as the halls of the military museum: there are stands informing about the ship’s combat path and the history of aircraft carrier construction.

Weapons systems simulate operation. There are models of planes and helicopters on the decks and in the hangars. Tourists are accompanied by guides dressed in the stylized uniforms of Soviet Navy officers.

In May, China launched its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, for sea trials. The new aircraft carrier’s evaluation air group will consist of 40 fighters, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and helicopters.