Divers trying to recover the remains of 118 sailors from the wreck of the Russian submarine Kursk found the first four bodies yesterday, dispelling fears the dangerous operation might end without any result.
Further recovery work was postponed due to the harsh Arctic weather, the commander of the Northern fleet, Adm Vyacheslav Popov told ITARTASS early today.
"The bodies of three sailors have been found and lifted on to the hull," the Northern Fleet Chief of Staff, Mr Mikhail Motsak, told Russia's RTR state television.
RIA news agency later quoted the fleet spokesman, Mr Vladimir Navrotsky, as saying the bodies had been brought to the surface. The fourth corpse was found overnight and raised to the surface.
Mr Motsak said all the divers had been brought up for checks on their condition. The divers were inspecting the eighth and ninth compartments at the stern, which suffered least from two explosions which wrecked the nuclear-powered Kursk. Seven sailors were believed to be posted in the eighth compartment.
Earlier, a diver moving down the submarine's narrow corridor had to stop after his oxygen cable turned out to be too short.
Mr Motsak said the holes would not be resealed until the vessel was checked completely.
The Kursk plunged to the floor of the Barents Sea on August 12th, killing all on board, in Russia's worst naval disaster.
Moscow has not said what caused the explosions, but navy Commdr Vladimir Kuroyedov has said he was pretty sure the Kursk collided with another submarine.
"I am 80 per cent sure it was a collision with another submarine. In two months, I will make up the other 20 per cent and will announce to the world who it was," he said on Tuesday.
Amid public outrage over a poorly organised rescue mission, President Vladimir Putin promised relatives of the crew that the sailors' bodies would be recovered.
Experts said a salvage operation would be extremely risky. Relatives later urged the government to call off the attempt but officials insisted it would go ahead.