It must be terrifically damp, dark and cold,'' said Steve Collier of Bath, Ohio, a retired U.S. Navy master chief petty officer who served on three submarines from 1973-93. The Kursk is lying on awkwardly on its side in strong currents and swirling muck, frustrating repeated rescue efforts. Russian officials say the bow probably was damaged by an explosion, perhaps in a torpedo bay. Several compartments flooded with sea water, sending the sub to the bottom. Veterans submariners say the sailors in the Kursk's bow almost certainly are dead.
Survivors are more likely to have been stationed in the rear of the vessel.
Every submariner knows that tomorrow it could happen to him,'' said retired Russian Capt. Valerei Zelichonok, who commanded submarines before moving to Israel in 1990. For Dan Persico of Amsterdam, N.Y., the Russian ordeal recalls the 48 harrowing hours he spent trapped aboard the USS Squalus, which sunk in 250 feet of water off New Hampshire in 1939. Twenty-six men died. Persico was among 33 survivors who rode to the surface in a nine-ton diving bell lowered by a rescue ship.