The tragedy sparked a massive search and rescue operation, which ultimately proved unsuccessful. The cause must be looked for, found and removed.In September 2000, the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea, taking the lives of 118 sailors onboard. Otherwise, we will not find out what needs to be done to the navy today, and to create a navy for the future. “The cause of the submarine’s fate is not connected with state secrets,” he said, adding that “even if there are some state secrets there, the cause should be revealed. Vladimir Kuroyedov, ruled out theories that a missile fired by the nuclear-powered cruiser the Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) during the military exercises might have been the catalyst. On Saturday, the commander in chief of the Russian navy, Adm.

Russian authorities say a collision with another submarine or a World War II mine could be to blame. Dmitry Kolesnikov described the conditions for the 23 men.Įxperts outside Russia believe that the Kursk sank after one of its torpedoes exploded, triggering a second explosion of all the torpedoes. Ustinov said the sailors whose bodies were recovered died of suffocation, including the 23 who gathered in the rear section of the sub after the blasts.Ī note found there last year on the body of Lt. They will also weld shut all openings to the reactor section. Russian experts plan to sever cables in order to prevent the reactors from activating. Radiation levels were normal, Serov said. The recovery crew, meanwhile, was drying the reactor compartment, where water was found. Russia’s chief designer of nuclear reactors, Igor Serov, also insisted Saturday that the reactors are safe. Ustinov said the steel casings of the sub’s two nuclear reactors and its missiles were strong enough to withstand the force of the explosions. Since the Kursk was hauled to dry dock in northern Russia 2 1/2 weeks ago, crews wearing breathing apparatus have been working day and night to recover the bodies. In his effort to recover from the political damage, Putin promised families that the submarine would be raised and the bodies recovered. Putin was bitterly criticized by angry families after the vessel sank for only belatedly cutting short a vacation as the crisis wore on.

There was a huge explosion and a fire here.” Please understand that even if these outfits had been put on, no one could have survived what happened here. That is why there was no opportunity to put rescue gear on,” Ustinov said. “I will remind you that there were only 135 seconds between the first and the second explosions. That section was cut off before the Kursk was salvaged for fear it would tear off and destabilize the submarine while it was being raised. Ustinov said the disaster may not be fully explained until the bow, where the blasts occurred, is raised from the ocean floor next year. The cause of the Kursk explosions, which occurred about two minutes apart during naval exercises, is still unknown.

It would be difficult to recover any human remains under the debris, he said, but the recovery crew will do its best.Īt the end of his presentation, Ustinov uncovered his head and paid tribute to the dead. Ustinov said most of the crew was in the forward areas where the force of the blasts was fiercest, including the captain and senior officers. “What happened inside these compartments was an inferno, an inferno as horrible as a person can conceive,” he went on. “Farther here is the place where the periscopes used to be-everything is cut off clean here. “You can see that everything here is cut off practically like with a knife,” said a somber Ustinov, gesturing at the areas where cables, pipes and walls were torn away.

Kursk submarine disaster bodies