Part Of Kursk Crew Died 135 Seconds After Disaster, Others Lived Another 4-6 Hours

Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov has confirmed that part of the sunken Kursk nuclear submarine's crew died of carbon monoxide suffocation 135 seconds after the disaster, while the rest lived another 4 to 6 hours. Speaking to a news conference in Murmansk, Ustinov said the second explosion virtually devastated compartments 1, 2, and 3. The Prosecutor General contended the sub commander may have been on the bridge in compartment 2 when the blast ripped through the warship. Experts have established that part of the crew "died of carbon monoxide suffocation on the 135th second of the disaster." The sailors, who were in compartment 9, suffocated 4 to 6 hours later, according to expert findings Ustinov cited. He speculated the seamen might have failed to escape from compartment 9 or to launch a signal buoy, a failure that is only explainable by the crew's "psychological state", according to Ustinov. "In order to escape, the submariners should have had to help one another, among other things, in putting on special suits," Ustinov said.