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Sunken Russian nuclear submarine death toll rises to nine
Severomorsk, Aug 31: Russian nuclear submarine sinks, killing nine. A Russian nuclear-powered submarine sank in stormy Arctic seas early on Saturday (August 30), killing nine servicemen, as it was being towed into port for scrapping, defence officials said.
Severomorsk, Aug 31: Russian nuclear submarine sinks, killing nine. A Russian nuclear-powered submarine sank in stormy Arctic seas early on Saturday (August 30), killing nine servicemen, as it was being towed into port for scrapping, defence officials said.
The head of the operation to move the K-159 through the Barents Sea was immediately suspended and President Vladimir Putin pledged a thorough probe into the accident, which evoked memories of the Kursk disaster three years ago.
The 40-year-old vessel -- one of two submarines being transported to a scrapyard at the port of Polyarny -- sank to the seabed 170 metres (510 feet) down after floats supporting it broke up during a storm.
Officials said its nuclear reactors had been shut down in 1989 when it was decommissioned and posed no ecological threat. But an environmental pressure group said water was likely to seep into the reactors and radiation levels in the area would have to be watched closely.
Putin, who suffered badly in the political fallout from the sinking of the Kursk in August 2000 when 118 servicemen were killed, said in Sardinia where he was on holiday: "Of course, all reasons for the tragedy will be established."
Of the 10 crewmen on board when the accident occurred at about 4 a.m. (midnight GMT), one officer was rescued alive and two bodies were recovered from the sea.
The submarine was being towed along the Kola Peninsula coast to Polyarny when the the floats broke apart and the K-159 tipped over and sank three miles (five km) northwest of Kildin Island.
Interfax news agency, quoting Northern Fleet sources, said a second submarine being transported to Polyarny for scrapping at the same time arrived there successfully. The sources suggested the air rescue operation was delayed because rescuers saw one submarine on the surface and did not at first realise that a second one had sunk.
After a day-long search for survivors, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said hope had been abandoned. "We have to recognise...that there are no chances of finding anyone alive from the crew," he said after flying to the Arctic port of Severomorsk to confer with naval chiefs on the tragedy.
Interfax news agency quoted Ivanov as saying the Northern Fleet would observe a day of mourning for the lost submariners on Sunday. Ivanov, a long-standing associate of Putin, said technical procedures for towing submarines had been violated and he fully supported the dismissal of Sergei Zhemchuzhov, the captain in charge of the towing operation.
Navy chief of staff Viktor Kravchenko said rescue ships using special listening equipment had detected no signs of life on board the sunken submarine. But he said the K-159 -- like the Kursk -- would be raised.
The Norwegian environmental group Bellona, which haslong studied Russia's nuclear arsenal, blasted Moscow for allowing the elderly vessel to be towed in rough seas and said new disasters were likely because of poor safety measures.
Bellona head Frederic Hauge said there was no seal around the reactors to stop water seeping in. Radiation levels would have to be monitored, but even if all the radiation leaked out it would only slightly raise levels in the area, he added.
Bureau Report
Of the 10 crewmen on board when the accident occurred at about 4 a.m. (midnight GMT), one officer was rescued alive and two bodies were recovered from the sea.
The submarine was being towed along the Kola Peninsula coast to Polyarny when the the floats broke apart and the K-159 tipped over and sank three miles (five km) northwest of Kildin Island.
Interfax news agency, quoting Northern Fleet sources, said a second submarine being transported to Polyarny for scrapping at the same time arrived there successfully. The sources suggested the air rescue operation was delayed because rescuers saw one submarine on the surface and did not at first realise that a second one had sunk.
After a day-long search for survivors, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said hope had been abandoned. "We have to recognise...that there are no chances of finding anyone alive from the crew," he said after flying to the Arctic port of Severomorsk to confer with naval chiefs on the tragedy.
Interfax news agency quoted Ivanov as saying the Northern Fleet would observe a day of mourning for the lost submariners on Sunday. Ivanov, a long-standing associate of Putin, said technical procedures for towing submarines had been violated and he fully supported the dismissal of Sergei Zhemchuzhov, the captain in charge of the towing operation.
Navy chief of staff Viktor Kravchenko said rescue ships using special listening equipment had detected no signs of life on board the sunken submarine. But he said the K-159 -- like the Kursk -- would be raised.
The Norwegian environmental group Bellona, which haslong studied Russia's nuclear arsenal, blasted Moscow for allowing the elderly vessel to be towed in rough seas and said new disasters were likely because of poor safety measures.
Bellona head Frederic Hauge said there was no seal around the reactors to stop water seeping in. Radiation levels would have to be monitored, but even if all the radiation leaked out it would only slightly raise levels in the area, he added.
Bureau Report