British, Norwegians begin sub rescue attempt despite Russian pessimism

The Norwegian vessel DSV Seaway Eagle takes part in rescue efforts early Sunday

In this story: Report: Divers to go in first 'Our worst expectations have come true' British remain hopeful One explosion triggered another, analysts say Anger rises among Russian public Observer: Disaster could have political impact RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

MOSCOW -- Norwegian deep sea divers and a British mini-sub began Sunday trying to rescue the crew of the sunken Russian submarine Kursk even though Russian officials have evidently given up hope of survivors.

The Norwegian divers teamed up with the British rescue crew and its LR5 mini-submarine about 8 a.m. local time at the rescue site on the Barents Sea, anchoring some eight kilometers (five miles) from the point where the Kursk lies on the sea bed.

INTERACTIVE See the damage to the Kursk (Flash Player needed)    VIDEO Russian television news broadcast, translated into English, describes ongoing rescue attempts. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Bud Kauderer tells CNN several factors preclude any survivors on a stricken Russian submarine (August 19). Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     IN-DEPTH Russian sub crisis: Background on Kursk disaster and rescue efforts     ALSO   Accident typifies plight of Russian military    •  Kursk final refuge  •  Timeline of Kursk events  •  Comparative size of the Kursk  •  Sub's position underwater  •  Anatomy of the Kursk  •  About the Kursk's namesake  •  Video Archive  •  Story Archive  •  Discuss changes in Russia

The British team had arrived at the site about three hours before the Norwegian divers.

Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov on Saturday told reporters in Murmansk that most of the submarine's 118 crew members were dead.

"The absolute majority of the crew died in the first two minutes of the disaster ... including those who were responsible for the command of the ship," he said.

Klebanov dampened hopes that the rescue attempt by the LR5 would be successful. "We think that the British submersible will not be able to latch on, since it will be using the same methods the Russian capsules used."

These words were echoed earlier by Russian Navy spokesman Ivan Dygalo, who said: "Many times underwater rescuers tried to latch on to (the escape hatch) but they can't seal it properly."

"We should not look upon the arrival of the British rescuers as a panacea, as they will encounter the same problems," he said.

The Norwegian divers were to investigate the damage to the nuclear submarine, which has lain crippled on the ocean floor for a week.

Russia's RTR state television said the divers, wearing special diving suits which the Russians were unable to afford, would descend the 108 meters (345 feet) to the hatch of the Kursk to see if they could manually unscrew the hatch's cover.

If successful, they would then enter the chamber and try to read the meters that measure water pressure inside the sub. If normal, crews would begin to pump out the sea water that had apparently entered the vessel.

But a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence in London said the Norwegian strategy is only one option which the rescue teams are considering.

"We have no firm indication on how they will go forward," he told CNN.com.

He was also unable to confirm the time of the rescue attempt.

Overnight from Friday to Saturday, Russian rescuers' attempts to contact the crew of the Kursk failed again. Although their submersibles managed four times to latch on to an escape hatch, they were unable to create a seal and lost grip.

"Hard as it is to say this, we will most likely have to say that our worst expectations have come true," said Mikhail Motsak, head of the of the Northern Fleet general staff, in a special announcement on RTR earlier.

A Russian inquiry found there had been a massive explosion in the front section of the Kursk, which had ripped through the submarine's hull, according to Motsak.

"Most likely the whole of the front section has been flooded and the staff in those sections died in the first minutes of the accident," Motsak said in a special announcement on RTR television. "In fact we have crossed the critical borderline of survival which we have allocated to the crew according to our guidelines. We've been crossing this threshold yesterday, today and maybe tomorrow."

Describing the situation as the "gravest disaster that I, as a sailor, have known in the history of the submarine fleet," he added: "There may be pockets of air but the air pressure must be very, very high and not promoting good health, while oxygen levels would be dangerously low."

Relatives of the crew members aboard the Kursk arrive in Murmansk on Saturday

But Commander Alan Hoskins, the man leading the British rescue bid, said he was still "extremely hopeful" of finding survivors. The LR5 mini-sub, was to carry a two-man crew as well as a Russian doctor and two Russian technicians down to the Kursk.

British Ministry of Defence officials have seen a Russian video of the submarine, which is lying at a sharp angle on the sea bottom.

Video shot by the Russian navy has shown that the front of the Oscar-class sub was severely damaged from the bow to behind the first fins, including the area of the front escape hatch and the periscope area.

A United States rescue team has also been assembled for possible use, after Defense Secretary William Cohen said that he had offered to send a small team of experts to the scene to provide engineering, medical and other advice.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said the team would include three or four people with expertise in submarines, underwater rescue techniques, diving and medical issues. They would have computer links to broader technical resources at military installations in the U.S.

Cohen said on Friday that the Defense Department was coordinating with NATO to offer three options for technical assistance. He said Russia's Defense Minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev had suggested U.S. officials at NATO headquarter in Brussels join the continuing consultations about potential avenues of assistance to the rescue effort.

A Russian government investigation has concluded that the Kursk -- which is resting on the floor of the Barents Sea 110 meters (350 feet) below the surface and some 136 kilometers (85 miles) from the Russian naval base of Severomorsk -- suffered one, possibly two, large explosions that ripped through the confined space of the submarine.

Seismologists in Norway have said that one blast in the area at the time the Kursk sank measured 3.5 on the Richter scale.

It is believed one explosion occurred in the Kursk's forward torpedo compartment, triggering the second explosion.

The Russian navy, which was conducting a major naval operation when the Kursk went down, has alternately blamed the loss of the 154 meters-long (505 feet) nuclear submarine on a collision, an on-board explosion, and an encounter with a long-lost World War II mine.

Analysts say a likely scenario was that a torpedo in the Kursk's forward torpedo compartment exploded, setting off a much bigger explosion in the compartment, which is usually packed with torpedoes.

Meanwhile, public opinion has turned from shock to anger against the authorities for not doing more to rescue the crew earlier.

The governor of the city of Murmansk, Yuri Yevdokimov, said: "The crew has unfortunately perished, that is a fact. This is painful not only for the relatives but for all the people in the north and for Russia."

Local resident Lydmila Zaitseva said: "I cannot judge if it was right or wrong but everybody is furious at how slow the rescue operation was carried out."

Another resident said: "The fact that the sailors were dead from the first was clear, but the fact a lot of time was wasted is also clear. There is no question about that."

In Severomorsk, home of the Northern Fleet, to which the Kursk belongs, sailor Andrei Konovalov said: "We thought this (the men were dead) for a week. If they are announcing it today that means they have known about it for days. They are treating us like idiots again."

Anna Kornitsuva, a resident, said: "I cried when I heard. Although it has been obvious for a long time that there will be lots of dead, we still had hope."

In an interview on CNN, Robert Hunter, former U.S. ambassador to NATO and now senior adviser to the Rand Corporation, a Washington, D.C. think tank, was asked about the ramifications of the disaster for the Putin administration.

"I suspect what happened here was poor maintenance of Russian military equipment leading to the accident, probably an internal explosion, followed then by, I suspect, in the first hours, senior military people really not willing to acknowledge what happened or to take responsibility," he said. "That is one of the things hitting right now, for people in Russia: the unwillingness of their military people to take responsibility for these young lives."

Hunter said this could have a major political impact. "We have to remember that there were two things happened of great moment in the old Soviet Union. One was the Chernobyl disaster, the other was the Afghanistan war. What we are seeing is a real attack on the Russian leadership, of the president, Vladimir Putin, who stayed on vacation and didn't say a thing for five days."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Submarine disaster deals setback to Putin
August 15, 2000

NORSAIR seismology research site (Norwegian/English)
   •  NORSAIR map of submarine site
UK Ministry of Defence
Perry Slingsby Systems: LR5 manufacturers
World Navies Today: Russian Submarines
Jane's Information Group
Russian Government
NATO

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