Russian submarine Kursk explosion
2000 CE.
Shown on the map at 69.616°, 37.575°.
The Russian nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk sank in an accident on 12 August 2000 in the Barents Sea, with the death of all 118 personnel on board. The submarine, which was of the Project 949A-class (Oscar II class), was taking part in the first major Russian naval exercise in more than 10 years. The crews of nearby ships felt an initial explosion and a second, much larger explosion, but the Russian Navy did not realise that an accident had occurred and did not initiate a search for the vessel for over six hours. The submarine's emergency rescue buoy had been intentionally disabled during an earlier mission; it took more than 16 hours to locate the submarine, which rested on the ocean floor at a depth of 108 metres (354 ft). Over four days, the Russian Navy repeatedly failed in its attempts to attach four different diving bells and submersibles to the escape hatch of the submarine. Its response was criticised as slow and inept. Officials misled and manipulated the public and news media, and refused help from other countries' ships nearby.
Text from the Wikipedia article Kursk submarine disaster, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.