Rescue of Russian Sub Suspended for NowAll rescue operations at the site of the wreck of the Russian submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea have been suspended since Monday evening, the Itar-Tass news agency reported Tuesday.A decision to this effect in view of an obvious hopelessness of further efforts was taken on Monday night by the Russian government commission on the accident. Moreover, divers are in need of rest after active work and no diving operations have been conducted since Monday evening, Russia's Northern Fleet press service announced. However, Russian and foreign ships are still staying in the disaster area, waiting for further instructions to lift the Kursk submarine from the seabed. Raising the bodies of the dead crewmen from a depth of over 100 meters is practically impossible, a spokesman for the Northern Fleet headquarters said Tuesday. An attempt was made to extract the only body discovered so far from the compartment nine Monday evening before the rescue was suspended. It was conducted under the help of a Norwegian robotic manipulator, but failed. The headquarters noted that it will be possible to recover all the dead bodies from the submarine only after it is shifted to shallow water. The fleet press service said the directors of the rescue operations have given up an intention to open the sub's compartments seven and eight, which transpired and are filled with water. The Norwegian ship Normand Pioneer with the British mini-submarine LR5 on board has left the operation area, heading for Norway. Meanwhile, the Norwegian ship Seaway Eagle with Norwegian deep-water divers aboard is still staying in the distress waters. |
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