Igor Dygalo News

More than 100 Russian sailors are reportedly trapped in their nuclear-powered submarine on the sea bed off northern Russia, after technical faults apparently forced them to shut down the nuclear reactor, the navy said. Reuters reported that Russia's independent NTV television station said the cause of the accident was flooding of the torpedo tubes and front section of the submarine Kursk, and said a power shutdown might lead to problems with oxygen supplies. The navy could not be contacted to confirm the details of the accident. The head of the navy's press office, Igor Dygalo, said earlier that unspecified technical faults had forced the Kursk to settle on the sea bed after training exercises in the Barents Sea, most of which lies in the Arctic circle north of European Russia.

Divers trying to recover the remains of 118 sailors from the wreck of the Kursk submarine have cut the first man-sized hole in the vessel, a Russian navy spokesman said. Igor Dygalo said the divers were firing pressurized water into the sub to clear away debris that could hamper their work. A camera will assess conditions inside the Kursk, which was ripped open by two explosions in August, before any decision would be made on sending men inside, Dygalo said. Divers must pierce seven holes to reach all parts of the submarine where remains of crew members might be found.