Severomorsk - Divers intensified efforts yesterday to cut their way into the Kursk nuclear submarine, but sources said Russian military secrets, not the search for bodies, was spurring work on the boat's bow section.
A Northern Fleet officer said some of the Russian divers engaged in the recovery operation had been specially trained to hunt out secret codes and military equipment trapped aboard the wrecked vessel. "Despite what the fleet command says, the Russian navy cannot but be concerned that secret documents and equipment of one of its most modern submarines are lying in shallow waters in the wreck of the Kursk," said the officer, who asked not to be named.