MURMANSK. Nov 30 (Interfax-Northwest) - The body of one more crewmember has been recovered during ongoing operations to clear debris from the nuclear submarine Kursk. The Northern Fleet prosecutor's office told Interfax on Friday that the body was recovered at about noon on Thursday.
The body was discovered several days ago, but only on Thursday night were attempts to remove it from frozen fragments of metal successful. "There is hope that the body can be identified," Interfax was told.
A total of 61 bodies have been recovered and 57 identified since October 21, when the Kursk was placed in a floating dock at Roslyakovo in the Kola Bay in northwest Russia. Together with the 12 bodies recovered in October 2000, the remains of 73 sailors have been found. Sixty-nine have been identified.
The Kursk sank in the Barents Sea during Northern Fleet exercises on August 12, 2000. All 118 crewmembers perished.