The Russian authorities have announced that all 118 sailors on board the Nuclear submarine, the Kursk, are probably dead. Exactly a week after the Kursk sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea, the chief of staff of the Russian northern fleet has said that an explosion probably killed most of the crew immediately. He said that there had been no signs of life for four days and the critical time to find anyone alive had now passed.
This evening, Russian officials said that that three or four torpedoes exploded on board the Kursk last Saturday, ripping a large hole in its hull, this flooded the entire front section and instantly killed half of the crew. The higher pressure inside the vessel points to widespread flooding and would have made it hard to survive, even for those trapped in any air pockets. The Russian government informed the families of the submariners tonight that the "survival time-limit had run out". The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has been meeting with senior members of his cabinet to discuss the rescue operation.
While there appears to be little chance of finding anyone alive the rescue operation is continuing. The British submersible rescue vessel, the LR5, is expected to be lowered into the Barents Sea at first light, and Norwegian divers are now preparing to go down to the Kursk to assess the situation, and see if they can detect any signs of life.
The crew of the LR5 is hoping to manoeuvre the vessel on to the Kursk and form an airlock through which any surviving crew could escape. But it will be several hours before any attempt is made to lower the rescue vessel, the LR5, into the Barents Sea to attempt to save any survivors. Norwegian divers are now preparing to go down to the Kursk to assess the situation, and see if they can detect any signs of life.
The Royal Navy officer leading the British rescuers, Commander Alan Hoskins, said that he hoped the Russians would supply them with detailed information about the state of the rear escape hatch. Yesterday another Russian rescue attempt had to be abandoned because the crew could not open the damaged hatch, the only escape route for the crew. The last time distinct signals were heard from the 118-strong Kursk crew was on Monday. The authorities had earlier said that nothing had been heard since Wednesday.
This morning, the team co-ordinating the British rescue attempt in England said that they also believed the chances of finding survivors aboard the stricken vessel were very slim. Commodore Tim Chittenden, of the technical control centre in Bath, said that his team was staying optimistic but said he believed that the chances of there being any survivors were remote.
The joint British-Norwegian rescue team travelled to the site in a Norwegian supply ship, the Normand Pioneer, which is carrying the British mini-submersible. Commodore Chittenden said that the British team hoped that the Russian team would join the operation and that Russians would go down with them in the LR5 submersible. The Commodore said that weather conditions in the area where the Kursk went down are good and they are expected to stay suitable over the weekend.
