Special ship to monitor radiological situation on Russian submarine death site

In the next few days a hydrographic ship will come to monitor the radiological situation in the area where the Russian K-159 submarine has sunk, a high official from the Russian Natural Resources Ministry Ivan Glumov said on Thursday. Monitoring will be carried out by his ministry.

Until the submarine is raised, samples will be taken monthly, or more often in case the readings change. So far, the radiological situation in the sunken sub area is not alarming, he said.

Monitoring results will be timely brought home to the public, he has promised.

Coincidentally with ecological monitoring ministerial specialists will make engineering assessment of the soil under the sunken submarine in order to prepare calculations for raising it.

In the meantime, search for the bodies of the dead submariners continues in the Barents Sea. Two rescue vessels and helicopters are involved.

The K-159 submarine went to the bottom in the small hours of August 30 as it was transported for utilisation. Only one of the ten submariners on its board survived.