Kursk disaster - would it happen the same way today?

[Krikkit]

Just finished watching the dramatisation of the Kursk disaster on Netflix - well worth a watch if not perfectly accurate (but pretty close).

One thing I was pondering is, if the equipment were the same today, would the Kursk disaster end up played out the same way? The Russians are still fiercely proud of their armed forces, but I can't help but feel like the days of the glorious USSR are far enough behind that they might not be too proud to ask for help.

[Equus]

I was under the impression that the likelihood was that all crew were dead within a few hours of the accident - before the Russian surface fleet had even recognised that something had gone wrong - so no level of international rescue effort would have made any difference?

[Krikkit]

Equus said:

I was under the impression that the likelihood was that all crew were dead within a few hours of the accident - before the Russian surface fleet had even recognised that something had gone wrong - so no level of international rescue effort would have made any difference?

Unfortunately there wasn't any hope for the crew, I'm not sure how much time they think the survivors spent in the compartment, but well before anyone could've got a rescue sub to it anyway.

What I mean is that they spent 5 days trying to get poorly maintained and fairly limited equipment to work on a badly managed rescue attempt before admitting they needed help.

[lufbramatt]

Just read the wiki page, sobering stuff. I remember it happening and how the BBC reported that there was hope of sailors being found alive. Couldn't have been further from the truth. An accident with a CO2 absorbing cartridge meant a fire killed several survivors in the rear compartment and used up the remaining oxygen so the rest of them suffocated quickly. All dead within hours of the initial explosion.

What's the name of the Netflix series? will have to give that a watch.

[Krikkit]

lufbramatt said:

What's the name of the Netflix series? will have to give that a watch.

Just "Kursk: The Last Mission".

As I mentioned it's not 100% accurate with the timeline, but pretty decent.