A rally in memory of 118 sailors who died on the Kursk submarine in August 2000 in the Barents Sea was held in the Murmansk region at the base of the Northern Sea Fleet in Vidyaevo. On the anniversary of the events, August 12, TASS reports.
“This heavy, irreparable loss affected not only the relatives of the Kursk submariners, but also all Russians. It remains an unhealed wound in the heart of each of us, ”said Chief of Staff of the Northern Fleet’s submarine forces Anatoly Kovalenko during the solemn mourning meeting.
According to him, on the day of the death of the sailors, together with their relatives and colleagues, all the soldiers of the Russian armed forces mourn. The feat of the Kursk crew became an example of heroism and is included in the glorious chronicle of the Russian Navy, Kovalenko added.
On this day, memorial services were held in all Orthodox churches of the naval garrisons, and flags were lowered on ships and submarines and a minute of silence was announced for the dead sailors. A solemn meeting was held at the memorial complex to the Submariners Who Died in the Ocean.
The participants of the mourning events laid flowers and wreaths at the memorial, honored the memory of the victims with a minute of silence.
On the 20th anniversary of the tragedy at the Kursk nuclear submarine, commemorative mourning events were also held in St. Petersburg. Currently, the city is home to more than 50 families of the dead submariners.
The nuclear submarine missile-carrying cruiser “Kursk” sank on August 12, 2000, in the Barents Sea at a depth of 108 m. There were 118 people on board, all of whom died. In the government commission, the cause of the tragedy was the explosion of a torpedo in the bow compartment of the submarine.