Spassky was the creator of the K-141 Kursk project, the last of the Oscar II class submarines built for the Russian navy. On August 12, 2000, a dummy torpedo aboard the submarine accidentally exploded and the submarine sank. Most of the crew died during the explosion, but 28 crew men remained alive for at least six hours afterward. Unfortunately, the rescuers were hampered by the slow and secretive military and government response. It was a week before they could get to the submarine site and then bad weather further slowed the recovery. By that time, the surviving crew had perished.