Gash in sub larger than thought Rescue attempts fail again

As rescuers failed again to lock onto an escape hatch on thesunken submarine Kursk on Thursday, filmed images of the vesselshowed a gash in the hull far larger than had been previouslydescribed, suggesting to Russian officials that the submarineplummeted to an uncontrolled collision with the sea floor that mayhave killed much of the crew.

Five days after the Kursk sank in the Barents Sea, and two daysafter Russian officials said they last heard signs of life from the500-foot nuclear-powered submarine, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanovcalled the situation for the crew of 118 "close to catastrophic."

Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov told reporters there is …