BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: Now an update on another sea disaster: Divers have found a note at the bottom of the Barents Sea, and it indicates at least some sailors initially survived the sinking of that Russian submarine. CNN's Steve Harrigan reports.</s>STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than two months after the nuclear submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea, the last word goes to Dmitri (ph) Kolesnikova, whose body was pulled from the wreckage by Russian divers. A letter found in the lieutenant's pocket says 23 men survived the two massive explosions onboard and gathered in one compartment of the submarine, hoping for a rescue that never came. The 27-year-old's widow learned about the letter on television.</s>OLGA KOLESNIKOVA, WIDOW (through translator): I came here when I heard the news. I loved him very much. I want to see him and I want to read his letter.</s>HARRIGAN: The news of survivors contradicts earlier government claims that almost all of the 118 seamen onboard died instantly. It also reopens a painful wound for relatives and many Russians convinced the government mishandled rescue efforts and misled the people. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to recover the bodies and to tell the truth about what happened.</s>PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (through translator): The work will be carried out as openly as possible to find out the causes of the catastrophe.</s>HARRIGAN: Salvage operations have been slowed by winter storms. Initial efforts succeeded in bringing just four bodies to the surface, along with the note from a dead man, written in darkness, on the bottom of the sea. Steve Harrigan, CNN, Moscow.
Divers Find Note Indicating 23 Russian Sailors Initially Survived Kursk Blast