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Kursk Disaster Cause Still Vague
The Russian governmental commission on the accident of the submarine Kursk sinking in the Barents Sea on August 12 has rejected 11 original explanations for the disaster, but still cannot conclude what caused the tragedy indeed, Russian Deputy Premier Ilya Klebanov said here Friday.
There remain three possible reasons to be further inquired, but none of them can be directly corroborated now, Klebanov, who is also the chairman of the commission, told a hearing at the State Duma, lower house of parliament.
One explanation presumes that the submarine hit a World War II mine, the second is that the Kursk collided with another submarine, and the third is that an explosion took place inside the submarine 's torpedo compartment.
Russia has asked Western countries to examine their submarines that were in the Barents Sea in August when the Kursk submarine sank, but received no answer, Klebanov told the deputies.
He said it is "most likely" that the tapping from the Kursk heard in the first days after the sinking was produced by a mechanical device, not by humans.
Attempts to simulate the third situation at a testing ground have so far failed. Sabotage and errors on the part of the crew were rejected as possible causes, he added.
Although the radiation background in the Barents Sea is normal, the submarine must be raised "for various reasons," he stressed.
He attributed "inconsistencies in reporting the disaster" to the overwhelming amount of incoming information, especially during the first three days after the sinking, and an inability to sort it out.
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