Divers Find Bodies in Sunken Russian Sub

ByABC News
October 25, 2000, 10:49 AM

M U R M A N S K, Russia, Oct. 25 -- Deep-sea divers entered the hull of the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk today and found the bodies ofthree of the 118 victims, a Russian navy official said.

The bodies were found several hours after a team of Norwegian and Russian divers succeeded in cutting the first hole in the thick hull of the submarine on the bottom of the Barents Sea, Northern Fleet Chief of Staff Mikhail Motsak said on state-run RTR television.

The bodies were removed from the hull in preparation forbringing them to the surface, Motsak said.

The divers are getting the first close-up look at the interior of the stricken submarine since it sank after a massive explosion on Aug. 12.

It took a team of divers five days to cut one hole through the Kursks thick steel double hull, 356 feet below the surface in the cold waters of the Barents Sea. Divers used a stream of pressurized water mixed with diamond dust to slice through the 2.5-inch thick steel plate.

The recovery team lowered remote-controlled video camerasthrough the hole first to inspect the eighth compartment in the subs stern, and pumped out silt to improve visibility, said Navrotsky.

The divers also smoothed the jagged edge of three-foot-wide hole with a special cushion for safe entrance intothe wreck, he said.

Darkness, Debris and Currents

The divers must contend with darkness, currents, floating debris and confined spaces.

The head of the Russian Navy, Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov, had earlier warned that he might cancel the recoveryeffort because of the danger of divers ripping their pressure suits or cutting their air hoses on mangled equipment and debris.

Kuroyedov flew to a Russian naval vessel at the scene today. He was accompanied by two widows of Kursk crew members, who brought flowers to cast into the water and home-baked pies to give the divers, the Interfax news agency reported.

Only the Russian divers will enter the Kursk, while theirforeign colleagues will assist from inside a diving bell lowered to the Kursk from the divers mother-ship, the Regalia.