The cataclysmic second of two explosions slightly more than two minutes apart is now considered the likely cause of the submarine’s destruction, the official at the head of the continuing inquiry revealed this weekend. Full story, see Details.

        Russian Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov announced the view of his own officials probing the disaster as work continued today (Sunday) to seek the remains of sailors still inside the hull and to unload Kursk’s cruise missile arsenal.

        "Investigators believe the submarine’s sinking was caused by the second explosion, which took place 135 seconds after the first," Ustinov told Interfax news agency. "We believe that the first explosion was that of a torpedo which served as a detonator that caused the battle-scale of ammunition in the front part of the vessel," he said. This scenario is still under investigation, though, the prosecutor added.

        "It is not a final conclusion, just one of the versions," he said. "But visiting the submarine and work aboard it again convinced us that this version may be the true one."

        Ustinov distanced himself from speculation that investigators had decided the sinking followed an underwater collision with another submarine. "I don't know who is saying this, but I can tell you for sure: we do not have a single conclusion indicating this," he said.

        In the dry dock at Roslyakovo, near the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk, specialists from the Northern Fleet's artillery and torpedo armaments division worked on to remove the seventeenth cruise missile from aboard the boat. Eight weapons have been taken from either side of the submarine, Northern Fleet headquarters staff reported. Despite the deformation of containers holding the last six missiles located nearer the bow, specialists are trying to remove them according to normal procedures without cutting them from the superstructure.

        Experts completely rule out the possibility of any accidental missile launch as "the submarine has been de-energised for more than a year."

        Northern Fleet military prosecutor Vladimir Mulov - appointed supervising prosecutor for the inquiry by the Russian prosecutor-general - said yesterday that attempts were under way to retrieve body parts found in the third compartment and one body found in compartment five.

        "Work is going smoothly, nearly all of the compartments are being examined step by step," Mulov said. "Our people continue to work practically all day, taking only short breaks for rest," he said.

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