ST.PETERSBURG. Nov 19 (Interfax-Northwest) - Representatives of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office and the Northern Fleet military prosecutor's office have confirmed the safety of the nuclear reactor of the nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea in August 2000.
"The chemical analysis and the examination of the fifth compartment, where the reactor control board is located, indicate that the reactor shut down after the accident on the Kursk."
"The submariners that were in charge of the control board in the fifth compartment did everything to prevent a tragedy," he said.
On third-generation submarines, to which the Kursk belongs, the reactor "shuts down when de-energized." "I think that after they made sure the reactor was shut down and it was impossible to do anything using remote controls, the guys tried to leave the compartments, but did not have time," the investigator said. "The second explosion prevented them from doing so," he said.