Parts of the official report into the Kursknuclear submarine disaster in August 2000 have been classified by the Russian government.
A government commission led by Science and Energy Minister Mr Ilya Klebanov has concluded that a torpedo explosion aboard the craft caused the Kursk to sink, killing all 118 seamen on board.
But Kommersantnewspaper today reports that the cause of the initial explosion within the torpedo, which was filled with a volatile fuel long ago abandoned by NATO, has been classified by the Klebanov committee.
A source in the Science and Energy ministry confirmed that parts of the official report have been classified, but refused to provide further details.
The Russian navy finished its retrieval operation of the last Kurskfragments last week in the Barents Sea. Experts have been dismantling and exploding parts of the craft, including its seven remaining torpedoes and the active parts of its nuclear reactor.
AFP