M A I N   N E W S

Most of sub’s crew feared dead

MOSCOW, Aug 17 (PTI) — As rescue efforts intensified to salvage the crippled Russian submarine lying at the sea-bed for the past six days, reports suggested that its captain and 60 of the 116 seamen are feared dead.

Commander Lanchin and 60 officers and sailors of Kursk are feared to have died soon after the disaster during exercises in the Barents Sea on Saturday, according to radio Mayak.

It said Commander Lanchin and the 60 seamen were believed to be in the first two compartments of the submarine which was badly damaged in the disaster.

ORT TV added that for over 48 hours there had been no sounds from inside the submarine. Earlier, trapped crewmen were sounding SOS with the help of some heavy object.

Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev said today that after five hours of underwater filming of Kursk, a picture of the damage to it which had been obtained indicated collision with some object, according to ORT TV.

A British Defence Ministry spokesman said in London that the Russian submarine had sunk to the bottom of the Barents Sea after a “high energy explosion”. He said the damage was to the front of the vessel.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov described the situation as “close to catastrophic” and said “one wants to believe that there is still a chance left to save the crew.”

Russia’s navy has so far failed to cope with the rough Arctic Sea in its efforts to save Kursk, which sank with its 118 sailors during military exercises.

A fourth Russian rescue vessel has joined the mission. Three Russian unmanned crafts have been taking turns diving into more than 300 feet of water in a bid to hook up the submarine.

Unable to carry out rescue on its own and bowing to pressure, Russia yesterday accepted help from Britain and Norway.

British and Norwegian deep-sea rescuers equipped with a high-tech submarine and mobile hospital gear set sail from Trondheim, Norway, today but are not expected to reach Kursk until Saturday.

Navy officials, meanwhile, warned that when help did arrive air-starved sailors might be too weak to open the emergency hatch through which they could scramble into the safety of an evacuation vessel.

The 26th is the last date until which they can survive, reports quoted officials as saying. Contrary to earlier reports that the oxygen in the submarine would last only until tomorrow, experts now believe it will last another week as emergency storage was available in every cabin.

Meanwhile, Vice Premier Iliya Klebanov and naval chief Vladimir Kuroyedov have reached Northern Fleet headquarters at Severomorsk to co-ordinate rescue efforts, Russian state TV said.