Divers lift fourth body from Russian submarine

4:00 PM

MOSCOW - Russian divers recovered a fourth body from the wreck of the Kursk submarine but were forced to halt the operation to find the remains of other crew members because of worsening weather.

Itar-Tass news agency quoted Vyacheslav Popov, the commander of the Northern Fleet to which the Kursk belonged, as saying the body had been found when the divers inspected the eighth and ninth compartments of the nuclear-powered vessel.

The Kursk plunged to the floor of the Barents Sea on August 12, killing all 118 crew, in Russia's worst naval disaster.

Earlier, divers recovered the first three corpses from the compartments. The stern part of the craft suffered least from a series of mysterious explosions that plunged the Kursk to the seabed.

Seven sailors were believed to be posted in the eighth compartment and three in the ninth at the time of the blasts.

Popov said the divers had to be brought to the surface soon after midnight because of a gathering storm in this area of the Arctic.

He said increased water movement inside the submarine threatened their lives.

At the same time, a team of Norwegian divers who remained outside the Kursk pressed on with efforts to cut a hole into the seventh compartment that the Russians could not access from within because a corridor leading to it was too narrow.

Popov said the Norwegians had completed some 10 percent of the work on a man-sized hole in the outer "soft" hull but might also soon be forced to withdraw because of the weather.

Tass said the weather forecast for the next three days did not favour the divers with storms expected to rage above safety limits.

Despite the difficult operating environment, the lifting of the first bodies gave a welcome boost to the operation which many said should be cancelled because of huge risks run by the divers going inside the shattered vessel.

Relatives of the crew, who wrangled a promise to recover the bodies from President Vladimir Putin during an emotional meeting in the aftermath of the disaster, have called for the government to call off the salvage attempt.

But Putin, stung by harsh public criticism of his lack of leadership during the crisis, insisted it go ahead as planned.

The operation is being conducted by the Norwegian arm of U.S. oil services firm Halliburton which sent its offshore platform, Regalia, to the disaster site. Its contract stipulates that only Russian divers go inside the submarine.

Russian navy commanders have said the operation could be stopped at any minute if divers' lives were at risk.

The divers must cut a total of seven holes to reach all parts of the craft where crew remains might be found.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: Russian sub disaster

Russian Centre for Arms Control: OSKAR subs

World Navies Today: Russian subs

Russian Navy official website