On August 12, 2000, during exercises in the Barents Sea, an авария occurred aboard the nuclear-powered missile submarine cruiser Kursk. There were 118 submariners on board. According to the published account, most of the crew died almost immediately after the incident.
The disaster is attributed to the explosion of a practice hydrogen peroxide torpedo in the first compartment. Under that version, it happened because of an error by torpedo operators while they were preparing a training torpedo attack. The first blast caused a large fire and the detonation of combat torpedoes, while a second, much stronger explosion destroyed the bow section of the submarine.
As the article states, the shock wave was stopped only by reactor compartments 5 and 5-bis. The submariners in the aft compartments — the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th — survived. In total, 23 sailors remained alive. They moved into the 9th compartment, sealed it, and stayed alive there for several more days.
The publication says that any real chance of rescue depended on a timely admission that the Russian fleet lacked the technical means to save people from a sunken submarine. In that assessment, only foreign rescuers could have helped, and the first 24 hours after the disaster were especially critical.
However, the fleet leadership, the source argues, chose a different course, and the Navy press service circulated inaccurate information. The text also says that not only the public and journalists but also the country’s leadership were misled.
At the time of the tragedy, Vladimir Putin was on vacation in Sochi. According to the publication, he fully understood the gravity of the situation only on August 16, when he agreed to accept foreign assistance despite resistance from the military.
Foreign rescuers arrived quickly, descended to the sunken submarine and managed to open the hatch of the 9th compartment. By then, however, nine days had passed since the accident, and all 23 submariners sheltering there had died.