3 bodies recovered from Kursk

MOSCOW, OCT. 25.

Russian divers today recovered three of the 118 bodies in the Kursk nuclear submarine which sank in August, a senior naval commander said.

Vice-Adm. Mikhail Motsak, Chief of Staff of Russia's Northern Fleet, said the bodies had been found in the rear two sections of the submarine - compartments eight and nine.

``They have been placed in a special container,'' Adm. Motsak said. ``We have started lifting the bodies of the dead sailors.''

Russian diver Sergei Shmuigin, entered the Kursk to search for the bodies of the 118 sailors, who perished when the vessel sank after a mysterious explosion that sent it crashing to the bottom of the Barents Sea.

He said the bodies were first discovered at 7.40 p.m. (9.10 p.m. IST) and that the divers were now starting to return, together with the bodies, back to the surface.

A consultation has also been planned to decide whether the divers should re-enter the Kursk immediately or wait until tomorrow.

A Northern Fleet officer said that the divers, working in poor visibility, 108 m. below the surface of the Barents Sea, should find at least seven bodies in the eighth compartment.

Normally, an officer, two first mates, a second mate and three sailors would be stationed in the section. But another three submariners from the neighboring compartment might have taken refuge there as well, he added.

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