Editing Russian submarine Kursk (K-141) (section)

=== Rescue attempts ===
The [[Royal Navy|British]] and [[Norwegian Navy|Norwegian]] navies offered assistance, but Russia initially refused all help.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams |first1=Daniel |title='Terrifying Hole' in Russian Sub |url=http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2000nn/0008nn/000818nn.htm |website=Wayback Machine |publisher=Washington Post |access-date=2 April 2016 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101161935/http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2000nn/0008nn/000818nn.htm |archive-date=1 January 2011 }}</ref> All 118 sailors and officers aboard ''Kursk'' died. The Russian Admiralty initially told the public that the majority of the crew died within minutes of the explosion. On 21 August, Norwegian and Russian divers found 24 bodies in the ninth compartment, the turbine room at the stern of the boat. Captain-lieutenant Dmitri Kolesnikov wrote a note listing the names of 23 sailors who were alive in the compartment after the boat sank.

''Kursk'' carried a [[potassium superoxide]] cartridge of a [[chemical oxygen generator]]; these are used to absorb [[carbon dioxide]] and chemically release oxygen during an emergency. However, the cartridge became contaminated with sea water and the resulting chemical reaction caused a flash fire which consumed the available oxygen. The investigation showed that some men temporarily survived the fire by plunging under water, as fire marks on the bulkheads indicated the water was at waist level at the time. Ultimately, the remaining crew burned to death or suffocated.<ref name="RM">{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Robert|title=A Time to Die–The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy|publisher=Crown Publishers, Random House|location=New York|year=2003|pages=[https://archive.org/details/timetodieuntol00moor/page/65 65–66]|isbn=0-609-61000-7|url=https://archive.org/details/timetodieuntol00moor/page/65}}</ref>

[[File:Интервью телекомпании РТР в связи с трагедией на атомной подводной лодке "Kursk".ogg|thumb|left|Putin interview on the tragedy <small>(with subtitles)</small>]]
Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]], though immediately informed of the tragedy, was told by the navy that they had the situation under control and that rescue was imminent. He waited for five days before ending his holiday at a presidential resort in [[Sochi]] on the Black Sea. Putin was only four months into his tenure as president, and the public and media were extremely critical of his decision to remain at a seaside resort. His highly favourable ratings dropped dramatically.<ref name=bbc3107>{{cite news|title=Kursk closure leaves questions unanswered|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2164783.stm|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=BBC News|date=31 July 2002}}</ref>  The president's response appeared callous and the government's actions looked incompetent.<ref name=sptimes>{{cite news|title=Kursk Relatives Make a Plea for Facts and Justice|url=http://www.sptimesrussia.com/story/14499|access-date=21 February 2011|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=23 February 2001}}</ref> A year later he said, "I probably should have returned to Moscow, but nothing would have changed. I had the same level of communication both in Sochi and in Moscow, but from a PR point of view I could have demonstrated some special eagerness to return."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1487112.stm  ''Spectre of Kursk haunts Putin'']  – BBC News, 12 August 2001 Retrieved on 8 August 2007</ref>