A fire aboard a Russian navy research submersible has killed 14 crew members.

The Russian Defence Ministry says the crew members were poisoned by fumes when the vessel caught fire while taking measurements in Russian territorial waters on Monday.

The fire was later put out and the vessel is now at Severomorsk on the Barents Sea, the main base of the Russian Northern Fleet in the Murmansk region.

The Ministry however did not say how many crew members were aboard at the time of the fire and did not specify the type of the submersible but added that an investigation into the incident has begun under the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian navy.

Russian news agency, RBK however cited a military source as saying that the vessel was an AS-12 nuclear-powered submarine, although there has been no official confirmation of this.

The AS-12 is a mini submarine used for deep water research, intelligence gathering and special operations.

Although Russia is not the only country to have suffered accidents in submersibles and submarines, such incidents in the country have often ended in tragedy.

In 2000, 118 submariners died after two explosions on board rocked the nuclear-powered Kursk. Earlier in 1992, 20 men on the Nerpa nuclear submarine died of asphyxiation.

Submersibles are generally smaller vessels with limited crew on board supported by ships on the surface, while submarines are larger vessels capable of operating autonomously over long distances.