"Seems to cast water on the burning bear."

UPDATE (11/9/08; 8:17am): As expected, Bubblehead has more details. I'll simply add this thought... I remember thinking as a naive young Chemistry major that the haologen gases (& their related "haloalkanes" or "organic halides" ) were "good" because they were so stable. Of course, stability brings with it insidious qualities as well--like colorlessness, odorlessness, and nonflammability. Three qualities that no doubt promoted the use of this gas on shipboard--but (so tragically) sealed the fate of these poor sailors and shipyard workers.
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Continuing its sad, unfortunate track record, the Russian submarine fleet reports that yet another mishap has cost lives:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least 20 people have died and 21 been injured in an accident on board a Russian nuclear-powered submarine in the Pacific Ocean, a Russian naval spokesman said on Sunday.

Radiation levels on board were normal, he said.

Russia's navy has suffered a string of fatal accidents, including the loss of the Kursk nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea in August 2000. All 118 sailors aboard died.

"More than 20 people were killed on a nuclear submarine in the Pacific Ocean during routine testing as a result of the unsanctioned functioning of the fire extinguishing systems," the navy spokesman, Igor Dygalo, said by telephone.

Dygalo did not give the name of the submarine or specify where it was located. There were 208 people on board at the time of Saturday's accident, some of them from a shipbuilding company, he added.

"The reactor section (of the submarine) is working properly," the spokesman said. "The radiation levels on the ship are normal."

A Russian destroyer, the Admiral Tributs, was providing assistance and taking some of the injured crew from the submarine to port, Dygalo said.

He did not say where the ships were but the Tributs is normally based at Vladivostok, Russia's main Far Eastern naval port, according to Russian media.

President Dmitry Medvedev has been informed about the accident, Russian news agencies reported.

The state-owned RIA news agency quoted a highly placed official in the Pacific Fleet as saying the accident happened in the bow of the submarine.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bubblehead's blog as well as The Sub Report and Ultraquiet No More for updates and further insights.