Russia:
Kursk submariners Dmitry Kolesnikov and Viktor Kuznetsov with Akula (NATO Typhoon) class in the background
In pitch-black darkness, some time after the explosions which sent the Kursk to the bottom of the ocean, Lieut Capt Dmitri Kolesnikov realised he was not going to survive.
As he waited to die, he wrote a careful account of what had happened on board the submarine, apparently for the benefit of naval officials. Then he turned over the piece of paper and on the other side composed a goodbye letter to his wife, Olga - feeling his way to trace the words in the dark.
This letter, barely legible and soaked with sea water, was found yesterday in one of his uniform pockets, shortly after his corpse was dragged out of the nuclear submarine's ravaged hull.
Most of the information on both sides of the paper was deemed too personal - and possibly too politically sensitive - for public consumption. But the few lines which were released give a grim new insight into how the 118 men on board the Kursk died, confirming the worst fears of the relatives that some sailors did survive the initial explosions and were trapped for hours, if not days, inside the submarine.
"All personnel from sections six, seven and eight have moved to section nine. There are 23 of us here. We have made this decision because none of us can escape," the note states.
Then Kolesnikov's handwriting becomes illegible, apart from the figures 13 and 5, followed by the words "I am writing blind", an apparent reference to the darkness which followed power failure within the submarine.
Kolesnikov wrote the second note at 15:15. His writing was extremely difficult to read.
It's dark here to write, but I'll try by feel. It seems like there are no chances, 10-20%. Let's hope that at least someone will read this Here's the list of personnel from the other sections, who are now in the ninth and will attempt to get out Regards to everybody, no need to despair. Kolesnikov