Russians test recovered sub for radiation

Associated Press

MOSCOW – Russian investigators examined the deck of the Kursk nuclear submarine Wednesday, while radiation specialists took air and water samples from the inside of the submarine to see if it would be safe to enter.

Russia’s top prosecutor and navy officials boarded the wreck for the first time Tuesday. They returned Wednesday, and a group of investigators worked on the deck throughout the day, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

Workers drilled holes around the submarine’s sixth compartment, where its nuclear reactors are located, to test the radioactivity there. Once the samples are analyzed, a decision will be made about working inside the submarine, navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said, according to ITAR-Tass.

The Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea more than a year ago, killing all 118 men on board, was raised in a risky operation that cost the Russian government $65 million. Officials have said they hope the wreck will provide clues about the cause of the disaster.

However, experts believe most of the clues are contained in the submarine’s mangled first compartment, which was cut off and left behind when the Kursk was raised. Russian officials have said they will try to raise it next year.

Mammoet, one of the Dutch companies that carried out the salvage operation, plans to submit a proposal for raising the bow for Russia’s Rubin submarine design bureau next month, the company’s representative in Russia said.

“If the Russian organization decides that foreign companies should be involved in that operation, we are prepared to bring the salvage to completion,” Vyacheslav Zakharov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russian officials initially said the navy would handle the operation to raise the bow on its own, but this week said foreign companies again could be asked to help.