Kursk recovery begins

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, OCT. 21. Deep-sea divers have begun preparations for retrieving the bodies of the crew trapped inside the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Kursk amid reports that destructions inside the vessel are too massive to undertake the risky operation.

The Kursk sank in the Arctic Barents Sea on August 12 after two mysterious explosions ripped through the ship killing all the 118 crewmen on board. An international team of divers from Russia and Norway arrived on the site of Russia's worst submarine disaster on Friday aboard the Norwegian off-shore platform Regalia. After a mini-sub explored the site of the wrecked submarine lying on the seabed at the depth of 108 metres, divers went down to cut holes in the 150-metre-long submarine hull. Some seven holes measuring 0.6 by one metre are expected to be cut before divers will try to enter the sunken submarine.

The Russian navy commander, Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, who is personally in charge of the operation, warned the divers not to take risks. Last week he said the recovery attempt would be called off if it was felt the submarine's condition made it too risky to search for bodies inside. Divers could face grave danger from jagged metal debris inside the wreck that could puncture their survival suits. Under a contract with the Norwegian oil firm Halliburton, only Russian divers are to go inside the Kursk. The operation could also be halted if weather conditions deteriorate and waves exceed six metres.

Many experts have warned against undertaking the risky operation. They argued that most bodies were destroyed or thrown out of the submarine in the powerful blast and the few remaining corpses would be impossible to retrieve from the mangled hull. The Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, pledged to retrieve the bodies in an emotional meeting with relatives in August, but many have since urged him not to rush the operation. In an open letter to the President last month, victims' relatives urged him not to risk divers' lives and wait till preparations had been made for raising the submarine with the crew. The Government said such an operation would be undertaken next year. Some marine experts have cautioned that the holes to be made for retrieving the bodies could weaken the submarine's structure, jeopardise the safety of the Kursk's nuclear reactors and make it impossible to raise the vessel.

A Russian daily on Saturday quoted naval sources as saying that Government officials responsible for the salvage project were just afraid to tell Mr. Putin the truth about the Kursk condition, which transpired after a Russian unmanned mini- sub filmed the submarine last month. According to the sources the film, which was never made public, revealed that the Kursk's five front sections had been totally destroyed, suggesting that the remaining four had been too damaged inside to try to penetrate them.

The cause of the explosions that destroyed the Russian submarine is yet to be established. The Russian mini-sub which explored the seabed around the Kursk failed to find any fragments of an alien vessel to support the collision theory, favoured by a government commission investigating the disaster. Several specialists said the available evidence suggested that a misfiring torpedo engine caused the first blast aboard the submarine which touched off a fire, flooding and a catastrophic detonation of warheads on board.

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Section  : International
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