The K-19 was the Soviet's first submarine equipped with nuclear weapons. In order to keep up with the United States, the Soviet Union quickly constructed the K-19. Construction began in the late 1950s. The ship soon proved to be deadly. During the frenzied construction of the submarine, several people died. Two workers died when an explosion caused a fire to break out. While gluing rubber lining into a water tank, six women were suffocated by fumes. An electrician was crushed to death by a missile cover and an engineer fell between two compartments and died. The most persuasive omen that the submarine was cursed occurred at the christening of the ship in 1959. Breaking tradition, a man, instead of a woman, is chosen to smash the ceremonial
