Sub Was Holding Scientific, Diving Tests, Tass Says

A Soviet nuclear-powered submarine was testing deep sea dives and conducting scientific experiments when it caught fire and sank off Norway on April 7, Tass said Friday.

The official news agency said investigators have come up with four probable causes for the disaster, which killed 42 of the 69 sailors aboard, but it did not list them. It also said a decision on whether to salvage the submarine could take months.

In Oslo, Norwegian experts said the sub’s nuclear reactors and weapons are apparently intact in the vessel on the seabed.

Eight water samples collected near the sunken vessel, more than 4,500 feet beneath the surface, detected no radiation leakage, Norway’s National Institute of Radiation Protection said.