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PM: Situation on Sunken Sub "Almost Catastrophic"
The situation aboard the sunken submarine Kursk "is almost catastrophic," but "we still hope that chances for saving the crew have not been lost," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said Thursday.
"No cardinal changes, negative or positive, occurred last night," Kasyanov said while opening a cabinet session on the rescue of the multipurpose nuclear submarine that reportedly went down to the bottom of the Barents Sea last Saturday.
Kasyanov said Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov and Commander of the Russian Navy Vladimir Kuroyedov are about to fly to Severomorsk to observe the rescue operation, the Interfax news agency reported.
Western rescuers will join the efforts to save the 118 crew Thursday, Kasyanov said, noting that "hope for saving the Kursk crew has not faded yet."
Russia had earlier refrained from requesting outside help and that stance changed Wednesday. British and Norwegian help is on the way.
All attempts so far to evacuate the servicemen aboard Kursk had failed due to strong currents and poor visibility, Interfax reported, citing a source with the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet.
The source confirmed the absence of any tapping SOS signals from the crew aboard Kursk, but noted that the submariners might be saving strength given a shortage of oxygen.
Authorities said the oxygen would last only until Friday.
There has been no final word on what caused the submarine to sink while participating in a major naval exercise, but Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said the theory that Kursk may have collided with another object is receiving increasingly concrete confirmation.
"An increasing amount of evidence suggests that the submarine must have collided with an external object," Interfax quoted Sergeyev as saying Thursday.
Russia has 22 ships on the surface involved in the rescue bid.
The "Kursk" was commissioned for the Russian Navy in 1995. It has a displacement of 14,700-23,860 tons and can dive to depths of up to 500 meters. The submarine is armed with torpedoes and "Granite" cruise missiles. The vessel can operate autonomously for up to 120 days, Interfax reported earlier.
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