RUSSIA/ AT SEA: FAMILIES OF SAILORS WHO DIED ABOARD RUSSIAN SUBMARINE KURSK STILL WAIT TO FIND OUT CAUSE OF TRAGEDY ONE YEAR ON

Record ID: 840646

  • Title: RUSSIA/ AT SEA: FAMILIES OF SAILORS WHO DIED ABOARD RUSSIAN SUBMARINE KURSK STILL WAIT TO FIND OUT CAUSE OF TRAGEDY ONE YEAR ON
  • Date: 10th August 2001
  • Summary: (U5)ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (AUGUST 10, 2001) (REUTERS) WS/LV: ST.PETERSBURG AND THE RIVER NIVA/ CENTRAL ST.PETERSBURG (2 SHOTS) SV: NAVAL ACADEMY OFFICERS IN STREET CLOSE UP OF DIMITRY KOLESNIKOV'S GRAVE WITH PHOTOGRAPH OF DIMITRY ON THE KURSK WS: OUTSKIRTS OF ST.PETERSBURG, EXTERIOR OF FLATS SV: IRINA SHUBINA, WIDOW OF ALEXANDER SHUBINA, DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE KURSK SV:
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ST. PETERSBURG AND DUNIA, RUSSIA AND BARENTS SEA, RUSSIAN TERRITORIAL WATERS
  • City:
  • Country: Russian Federation At Sea
  • Topics: Accidents,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6TJSDGCDGZA2G76HCB621Z7BE
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: The families of the sailors who died aboard the nuclear powered submarine Kursk are still waiting to find out what really caused the tragedy in which one of Russia's flagship naval vessels was lost with all 118 sailors on board.
    A year after the Russian submarine Kursk sank and plunged 118 sailors to their deaths, the parents and wives of the men on board still have no idea what caused the accident.
    Some of the families of the Kursk crew now live in Russia's second city, St.Petersburg. They moved there from the Naval town of Vidyaevo, where the Kursk crew and their families lived before the accident.
    Roman Kolesnikov is a 57-year-old former submariner. His son, Dimitry, who died on the Kursk, left with him one of the few clues as to the circumstances on aboard the stricken vessel moments after the accident.
    Dimitry's body was recovered last October from the Kursk with a note in which he described the moments after the explosion that sank the vessel and his final hours on board, along with 22 other sailors who had survived the initial blast.
    "There was no panic among those 23 sailors who survived the first blast, they were very brave - they were still alive - they showed such courage. But those in charge were and are still without courage. There is mismanagement of our Navy,"
    says Roman.
    He believes that the mismanagement of Russia's navy is the first clue to the causes of the Kursk tragedy.
    His son's body is buried at a St.Petersburg cemetery, with a photograph of a smiling Dimitry as a young naval recruit attached to the headstone.
    Irina Shubina's husband, Alexander, was the Deputy Commander of the Kursk. 39-year-old Irina moved to St.Petersburg from the Naval town of Vidyaevo. She was offered free accommodation in the city by Russian Naval authorities and a sum in cash compensation. All other Kursk families have received similar compensation.
    A year after the tragedy, Irina says the Russian authorities are trying to convince the Kursk families and the country at large that no one really has to carry the blame for what happened.
    "When it (the Kursk accident) happened I blamed everyone, the higher the rank of the officers in charge, I blamed them more. Because now they say it is nobody's fault, but I don't believe it," says Irina.
    She has two teenage daughters aged 13 and 18 and believes it would be better to recover the sailors bodies from the Kursk and make their final resting places on land.
    "I guess the submarine should be raised and the bodies recovered and buried, and everyone of us hopes that the bodies of their loved ones will still be on board," says Irina.
    But 23-year-old Anya Vassiliva, is less optimistic about ever finding out the real story of what happened to the submarine on August 12, 2000. She is a young navy bride. Her husband Andrey was one of the engineers on the Kursk charged with maintaining the nuclear reactor. Her husband's death leaves her alone to look after their two young boys, aged 3 and 5.
    "I don't think we were ever told the truth about what happened and nobody still tells us the truth and I don't think we will ever know the truth - we live in a country where everything is locked behind doors," says Anya, surprisingly old for her young age.
    The Russian navy has turned for help to the Dutch heavy transport company Mammoet, which unexpectedly won the approximately $65 million contract to raise the 18,000 tonne Kursk after a high-profile international consortium backed out of a deal, saying it could not guarantee the safety of the unprecedented salvage operation.
    All 118 crew on board the Kursk perished when it was struck by two large explosions in August last year. The wreck now lies at the bottom of the Barents Sea.
    The exact cause of the disaster remains a mystery, but experts say Russia is investigating the possibility that the blasts were caused by hydrogen peroxide which is used to propel the submarine's torpedoes.
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