The US Navy revealed that the nuclear submarine "US Connecticut" collided with an object while sailing in international waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans on the second of this month.
It added - in a statement - that the accident did not result in life-threatening injuries, and did not affect the nuclear propulsion system of the submarine, which is fully operational, noting that an investigation is underway to assess the damage to the rest of the submarine's parts.
And Reuters news agency quoted US officials that the accident occurred in international waters in the South China Sea, and that less than 15 people sustained minor injuries such as bruises, and the condition of two of the injured was described as moderate.
The officials explained that it was not yet clear the nature of the object that hit the submarine.
On the other hand, the American network "CNN" (CNN) reported that this incident comes amid an escalation of tension between Washington and Beijing due to the frequency of penetrations by Chinese warplanes to the air defense zone of Taiwan.
In the same context, US news websites quoted a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet as saying that the nuclear submarine was in international waters in the South China Sea when the accident occurred.