Submarines: December 10, 2001

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Russian experts are studying the wreckage of the recovered submarine Kursk. A total of 56 bodies have been recovered; the Russians do not expect to find the other 62 crewmen. The bow of the submarine was cut away from the rest of the hull and remains at the site of the sinking. That section was left behind because it contains dangerous unexploded weapons. The Russians plan to recover this section with special equipment next summer. The Russians have, reluctantly, come to accept the American theory of an internal explosion; there is no evidence of a collision with an external object. Even the Russians admitted that the severe devastation seen in the forward and central sections could only have been caused by the internal detonation of a major weapon, but they clung to hopes that a bump from a US submarine triggered the detonation.--Stephen V Cole