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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 11, 2003

Putin Dismisses Northern Fleet Commander

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Gennady Suchkov over the death of the K-159 nuclear submarine crew in the Barents Sea on Aug. 30, Russian news agencies reported Thursday.


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Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Gennady Suchkov over the death of the K-159 nuclear submarine crew in the Barents Sea on Aug. 30, Russian news agencies reported Thursday.

The decision was made on Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov's recommendation, the Kremlin press service said.

Commander of the Russian Navy Vladimir Kuroyedov said that Putin had appointed Sergei Simonenko acting commander of the Northern Fleet.

The decommissioned K-159 submarine sank in the Barents Sea due to a storm that tore off four floating pontoons of the submarine, while it was being towed to a ship-repair yard for dismantling. Nine of the 10 sailors on aboard were killed in the accident and one was rescued.

Kuroyedov said that the tragedy could have been prevented if all the requirements and instructions had been met.

He blamed the tragedy on the negligence of the typical and technical to wing requirements.

"The Northern Fleet has again made the same mistake of 2000," he said, referring to the Kursk nuclear-power submarine, which sank on Aug. 12, 2000 after its torpedo exploded in the Barents Sea during military exercises, killing all the 118 crew members.

Kuroyedov said that Russia may start to raise the K-159 submarine, whose wreck is lying at a depth of 238 meters, in August or September 2004.

He did not rule out the possibility of inviting foreign experts in the operation.

Kuroyedov said the sunken submarine currently poses no danger.

"The radiation level in the area where the submarine sank is normal according to instruments we have used. But the situation may change for the worse at any time, so we have to monitor it constantly," he noted.


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