http://www.sunday-times.co.uk
Russian Admiral Says Kursk
Was Sunk 'By Stray Cruise Missile
Christine Toomey and Mark Franchetti, Moscow
A Russian admiral close to the investigation into the sinking of the Kursk
nuclear submarine has claimed the disaster was caused by a cruise missile
misfired from a command vessel overseeing naval exercises. The admiral, who
declined to be named, told The Sunday Times: "It is 100% certain that a
cruise missile went the wrong way." This, he said, set off a catastrophic
chain of events that ended with huge explosions inside the submarine and the
deaths of all 118 men on board. According to his account, a Granit missile
- better known by its Nato designation, Shipwreck - was fired from the
warship Peter the Great and hit the water directly above the submarine, 30
miles away in the Barents Sea. The missile, equipped with a dummy warhead,
would have disintegrated on contact with the water. However, the explosion of
its liquid fuel could have been just enough to destabilise the submarine.
This, in turn, is thought to have caused one of the submarine's torpedoes to
shake loose from its mounting, leak fuel and explode. Within minutes the
resulting fireball had set off further explosions of the Kursk's munitions,
sending it plunging to the seabed. The admiral said crucial documents
relating to the incident, one of Russia's worst peacetime disasters, were
missing. "A lot of documents concerning the Kursk are being hidden, using
the convenient excuse that they have been handed over to investigators into
the accident," he said. "There are those who do not want the exact version of
what happened to the Kursk to come out." The latest explanation of the
accident came as the Russian authorities faced fresh accusations of a
cover-up. The relatives of at least 20 of the victims are taking legal action
against the Russian state in an attempt to obtain all the facts about the
incident. The families want access to classified documents that could help
to explain what caused the sinking. They also want to establish whether
criminal proceedings can be brought against anyone deemed responsible. "Of
course the navy is doing everything it can to hide the truth from us," said
Khalima Ariapova, whose husband Rashid died in the accident. "They know what
happened but they are determined to cover it up. They think that with time
we, the relatives, will just fade away and stop pestering them. But they are
mistaken." The Russian authorities have repeatedly said the results of
their inquiry will not be made public until the Kursk is raised from the
seabed - an operation scheduled for next summer.
