Kursk Blast Attributed to Torpedo Propellant Leak
Leaking torpedo propellant caused the explosion that sank the Kursk nuclear submarine nearly two years ago, killing its 118-man crew, and no one was to blame, Russia’s top prosecutor said.
Closing the books on the disaster, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov also defended the Kremlin’s handling of the rescue efforts and confirmed that no evidence was found to back up allegations that a collision with a Western submarine or a World War II mine was to blame.
Ustinov said all the sailors aboard died within eight hours of the Kursk’s sinking in the Barents Sea on Aug. 12, 2000--long before any help could arrive.
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