Officer killed in shooting on nuclear submarine

LONDON: A Royal Navy officer was killed and another seriously injured in a shooting on a British nuclear-powered submarine, police said, which was only halted when a visiting politician tackled the gunman.

Another member of the navy was arrested on suspicion of murder following the incident on Friday in the southern port of Southampton, officials said, stressing that the shooting was not "terrorist-related".

The attack, aboard the navy's most advanced and newest submarine HMS Astute, came to an end when the leader of the local council disarmed the gunman and wrestled him to the ground.

The politician, Royston Smith, happened to be on a guided tour of the submarine at the time, which was in Southampton on a five-day visit after reportedly spending seven weeks at sea.

Describing his decision to tackle the gunman, Smith told: "He had a magazine with 30 rounds in it so I took the view that someone had to stop him.

"At some point I decided that the best form of defence was to try to disarm him. I guess I'm lucky he did not hit me."

"He fired again while I had hold of the weapon. I had a strange feeling. I was not sure if I'd been hit -- it didn't hurt -- but I wasn't thankfully."

Smith, a former member of the Royal Air Force (RAF), pushed the gunman to the ground and prised the weapon from his grasp.

He then restrained the attacker with the help of the council chief executive who was also on a tour of the submarine when the incident happened around noon (1100 GMT).

The mayor of Southampton was also part of the tour. A spokesman for Southampton City Council said the dignitaries were "safe and unharmed."

Armed police, firefighters, paramedics and the local air ambulance were quickly deployed to the docks when the incident started and two police launches patrolled near the submarine, witnesses said. (AFP)