Russian plans to raise Kursk

The Russian authorities have been giving details of their plan to raise the stricken submarine Kursk from the sea bed and bring it to the surface.

The minister responsible for the commission investigating the sinking, IIya Klebanov, said it was planned to raise the submarine in August this year, but that the compartment containing the torpedoes would be cut off and left on the sea bed.

He said that raising the torpedo department would risk an explosion.

The BBC Russian Affairs correspondent says that while this may be sensible from the safety viewpoint, it means that it will be very difficult to determine the cause of the accident. He says that western experts say the explosion of a torpedo is the most likely cause of the disaster, but if the torpedo compartment is not raised, no-one will be able to prove it one way or the other.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service