From the Kursk to Kim Wall: this is how tragic U-boat accidents in the past ended

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There is something mystical and adventurous about submarines. But when something goes wrong, they become a nightmare. Rescue is difficult, oxygen is limited. Despite the dangers, five people wanted to dive with the submarine Titan towards the sunken Titanic.

They have been considered missing ever since. The search for the submarine is in full swing. It is unclear whether the passengers can be rescued in time. But other submarine accidents show things aren’t looking good.

In August 2000, a submarine accident in the Barents Sea shocked the world. At that time, 118 men were killed aboard the Russian nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk. The reason for this was an explosion that killed most of the workforce within minutes. 23 crew members were initially able to save themselves in a room. Since all rescue attempts failed, they too died as a result of a fire. In letters, one of the men left a message: “Greetings to all, do not despair”.

What exactly happened remained unclear for a long time. There were several theories. For example, that the Russian armored cruiser Pyotr Velikiy accidentally sank the boat during a test firing. Others claimed that an American spy boat rammed the Kursk. Since 2002, a faulty torpedo has been officially the cause.

According to the “Berliner Zeitung”, Vladimir Putin (70) was asked in an interview about four weeks after the accident what exactly had happened. He then just smiled and said “She sank”.

Not an accident – but still shocking: Kim Wall’s death. On August 10, 2017, the Swedish journalist met the Danish inventor Peter Madsen. She wanted to write a story about the famous adventurer – and boarded his submarine “Nautilus”. But it was her last interview. Because the famous Dane killed the woman – in the most brutal way.

As the “Frankfurter Allgemeine” reports, Madsen sexually assaulted, tortured, killed and then dismembered the then 30-year-old. Then he threw the body parts into the sea. The torso and body were not found until a week later. After weeks, the legs and an arm appeared.

Madsen didn’t confess to his crime until 2020 – to a journalist working on a documentary. Today, the killer is serving a life sentence for the murder of Kim Wall.

Kim Wall wasn’t the only one to die aboard a submarine in 2017. In the same year, bad luck also happened in Argentina. On board the ARA San Juan, 44 crew members were killed. They worked against illegal fishing. But it was her last. Shortly before the submarine disappeared, the captain announced that water had entered a battery tank through the ventilation system. This resulted in a short circuit and fire in the battery.

As with the current Titanic case, people also fought against time. There were only about seven days before the crew ran out of air. Unfortunately, despite support from Brazil, Great Britain, Chile and Uruguay, this was not enough. The wreckage was not found until a year after the accident.

One of the most recent submarine accidents took place in 2021. Shortly before the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, 53 people died. You were on a routine mission with the KRI Nanggala. After the crew dived deeper for a torpedo drill, contact was broken. The submarine of about 1396 tons sank just 95 kilometers from the island.

Here, too, the oxygen ran out – it only lasted about 72 hours. And here, too, the boat was searched at full speed. But all help came too late. The boat, which was designed for a maximum depth of 500 meters, was discovered after four days at a depth of 800 meters – broken into three parts. (Mrs)

Source: Blick