Letter From the Watery Grave
Oct. 27 -- Russian officials said no one survived the ferocious blast which sunk the Kursk — but a letter found on one of the bodies recovered from the site proves otherwise.
The note, found on the body of 27-year-old Lt. Dmitry R. Kolesnikov shows that at least 23 people survived the powerful explosions that killed most of the crew — and sunk the vessel, sealing the fate of the rest.
The desperate message says the survivors gathered in the compartment where the emergency escape hatch was located — but could not escape.
“I am writing blind,” he wrote. “It’s 13:15. Allpersonnel from sections six, seven and eight have moved tosection nine. There are 23 people here. We have made thedecision because none of us can escape.”
Russian officials believe the note was written at least two hours after the sub began to sink. It’s not clear how long they survived.
The letter may also turn into the most grisly and poignant indictment of President Vladimir Putin, who vacationed through the earliest days of the drama and reportedly rejected the first offers of international help in reaching the vessel. But it was unclear if a quicker response would have saved the survivors trapped inside the compartment.
Russian Navy chief Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov said at a meeting with submariners’ widows the note was written an hour or so after the Aug. 12 explosions.He was shown on RTR television saying the other side of the note was devoted to his wife, and the contents would not be made public.
Trapped in the 9th Compartment
After the Kursk sank, Russian submersibles were unable to latch onto the hatch, but Norwegian divers who followed managed to open it a week after the tragedy — and determined there were no survivors.
Kuroyedov said divers’ operations in the seventh and eighth compartments had been stopped and the divers were concentrating their search on the ninth compartment.
The letter contains important details about the accident that sank the Kursk — and the drama that captured the attention of the world, Vice-Admiral Mikhail Motsak, chief of staff of Russia’s Northern Fleet, said later during a TV interview.
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