Letter after death

Another fragment of the suicide note of Kursk crew member Dmitry Kolesnikov was made public yesterday at the St. Petersburg Admiralty during the farewell to the lieutenant commander. “It’s dark to write here, but I’ll try by touch. There seems to be no chance. 10-20 percent. Let's hope at least someone reads it. Here are the lists of the personnel of the compartments who are in the ninth and will try to leave. Hello everyone, there is no need to despair,” wrote Dmitry Kolesnikov and entered the time: 15.45.

To say goodbye to the deceased submariner, cadets from military schools and employees of the Leningrad naval base gathered at the Admiralty building. To get to the hall where the funeral service was held, they stood in the pouring rain for more than an hour. An excerpt from the note, copied onto a large sheet of cardboard and framed, stood under the portrait of the submariner. The widow sat very straight by the coffin, almost not crying.

Lieutenant Commander Kolesnikov opened a series of funerals for crew members of the deceased nuclear-powered ship. Today, senior midshipman Viktor Kuznetsov is being buried in Kursk. In addition to them, out of the 12 submariners brought aboard the Regalia, five more have been identified: Lieutenant Commander Rashid Aryapov, Senior Midshipman Andrei Borisov, Midshipman Mikhail Bochkov, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Brazhkin and Lieutenant Commander Sergei Sadilenko.

On Thursday morning, Norwegian divers completed making a “window” in the durable hull of the third compartment of the Kursk. The Rubin Central Design Bureau reported that search engines will not penetrate the pop-up rescue chamber, since there should be no submariners in it. The Central Design Bureau also categorically denies that the divers have the goal of lifting any equipment or documentation. As reported at the headquarters of the Northern Fleet, the data obtained by deep-sea explorers indicates that the third compartment of the nuclear-powered vessel was severely damaged by the explosion. It is unknown whether anyone will be able to be found there. Divers can enter the fourth compartment, where 12 people could have been present at the time of the disaster, either from the third or through a new technological opening. However, it is very difficult to move in the fourth compartment - here is the control point for the boat's mechanisms. The width of the passage is 50 cm, although for normal work the diver needs at least 70 cm.

Victor MATVEEV, St. Petersburg