MOSCOW. Sept 10 (Interfax-AVN) - The area of the Barents Sea where the nuclear submarine Kursk sank is now safe for seafaring after fragments from its bow section were blown up.
"The explosion of cord charges did not provoke the detonation of explosives that could have remained in the destroyed first section. This did not happen, and that means that the area is clear," an informed source at the Russian Navy headquarters told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
He said that the rescue ship Altai failed to thoroughly examine the explosion area due to bad weather on Monday and it was decided to return the ship to base.
According to preliminary information, the construction of the first compartment kept its shape and it is interesting to study its destruction level from the scientific point of view. The source stressed that "the fleet was not tasked to tear the construction into pieces."
When the weather becomes better the Altai vessel will head for the territory and study the area with the help of the Tiger and Venom TV submerging devices.
"At the same time the preliminary examination and analysis prove that the mission is accomplished," the source said.
The operation on blasting the first compartment took place on Sunday with the use of 200m-long wire charges that featured TNT charges. The total weight was 10t.
A minesweeper and environment security vessel were to lay down the wire charges. The charges were laid on the bottom of the Barents Sea on the submarine's first compartment. The blast happened with a remote control device and the total blast area amounted to several hundreds of square meters.
The source said that a test blast took place at a Northern Fleet proving range in June.
The Kursk submarine died on August 12, 2000 as a result of a torpedo blast killing all 118 people onboard.