Kursk disaster was a submarine accident that took place off the northern coast of Russia on Aug. 12, 2000. It involved a Russian nuclear submarine called the Kursk. A nuclear submarine has an engine consisting of a nuclear reactor and a steam generator. Torpedoes on board the Kursk exploded, causing the submarine to sink. All 118 sailors on the Kursk died. The disaster occurred in the Barents Sea, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Murmansk.
On Aug. 12, 2000, the Kursk was participating in a military exercise. The ship at that time was one of Russia’s most sophisticated nuclear submarines. At 11:28 a.m., one of the submarine’s torpedoes exploded. The submarine had been cruising at 60 feet (18 meters) below sea level. After the explosion, it plummeted to the seabed about 350 feet (107 meters) below sea level. Two minutes and 15 seconds after the first explosion, a larger explosion ripped through the ship.
The explosions immediately killed most of the sailors. Rescue teams later found a note written by one of the submarine’s officers. The note listed the names of 23 people who had survived the explosions. However, these survivors later died. Nobody knows how long they lived after the explosions.
Several Russian rescue attempts failed. On August 14, the Russian government declined offers of assistance from American, British, and Norwegian rescue divers. Two days later, the Russian government requested foreign assistance. On August 21, Norwegian divers opened the rear escape hatches of the submarine and confirmed that there were no survivors.
Russian officials initially blamed a foreign submarine or a naval mine for causing the explosions. But in 2002, a Russian government commission blamed the disaster on an unstable fuel additive that ignited in one of the torpedoes. The torpedo exploded and caused a fire that spread to other torpedoes, which also exploded.
Many people criticized the Russian government for waiting too long before asking for foreign assistance. Russian President Vladimir Putin faced criticism for remaining on vacation for six days before returning to Moscow, Russia’s capital. In 2001, a Dutch salvage team raised the submarine’s remains from the seabed.
