Why No One Escaped from the Kursk

Could some of the 118 Russian sailors who died in the August 2000 Kursk submarine disaster have been saved? A high-level Russian source tells TIME they could have been if rescue gear aboard the ship had ever been tested. After an explosion in the ship’s torpedo room ripped open the hull, 23 surviving crewmen rushed to a floating rescue capsule located in the rear of the submarine. But the capsule failed to disengage and surface. Russian investigators looking into the disaster have been vague about the reasons for the failure. But TIME’s source says that “on orders from the very top,” the capsule was one of several pieces of equipment struck from the testing roster because the ship’s completion was so far behind schedule.

In Russia such decisions are commonplace: bridges, houses, factories and other structures are frequently rushed into service to meet deadlines without proper testing. But rarely does the practice have such tragic consequences. And yet it doesn’t seem that any lesson was learned. Last December, a little more than a year after the Kursk disaster, Russian President Vladimir Putin commissioned another nuclear submarine, the Gepard. According to TIME’s source, that vessel’s floating capsule had never been tested either. –By Yuri Zarakhovich