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U.S. sonar tapes support Kursk torpedo theory-paper

Kursk
The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank on August 12 is shown at a Russian naval facility in Vidyayevo, in this May 2000 photo  

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- U.S. officials say acoustical tapes made by the American submarine USS Memphis in the Barents Sea support the theory that a faulty torpedo caused the explosion that sank the Russian submarine Kursk, Tuesday's New York Times reports.

Sonar tapes and other recordings that captured sounds of two explosions believed to have sunk the Kursk on August 12, killing all 118 people on board, contain the strongest evidence of the U.S. theory of a torpedo explosion, The Times said, quoting unnamed senior intelligence officials and senior Navy officers.

U.S. officials believe a rocket-propelled torpedo being loaded or launched as part of an exercise misfired, its engine or its fuel exploding. After two minutes and 15 seconds, a powerful explosion of the torpedo's warhead tore a gaping hole in the submarine's bow, killing most if not all of the crew instantly, the paper said.

Sonar tapes from the Memphis, one of two American submarines that were spying on the Russian naval exercise when disaster struck the Kursk, are being analyzed at the National Maritime Intelligence Center near Washington.

"We have subs that hear everything that goes on," the paper quoted a senior officer in Washington as saying. "It's pretty clear to us what happened."

Russian officials have given several theories to explain why the Kursk sank, including a collision with a foreign submarine and striking a World War Two mine.

The U.S. has dismissed suggestions that one of its subs collided with the Kursk.

A Norwegian seismic institute also reported recording two explosions and Norwegian officials have said the data matched theories of a blast aboard the nuclear-powered vessel, perhaps in a torpedo that may have triggered another, bigger explosion.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



RELATED STORIES:
Submarine rescue divers arrive home
August 27, 2000
Norwegian divers leave Kursk site -- for now
August 22, 2000
Putin gives posthumous honours to submarine crew
August 26, 2000
Radiation levels 'normal' around the Kursk
August 25, 2000

RELATED SITES:
U.S. Navy
Office of Naval Intelligence(ONI)
The Government of the Russian Federation
World Navies Today: Russian Submarines


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