Moskovskii Komsomolets, September 14, 2001, p. 2
Specialists of the Mammoet company report that separation of the first compartment from the rest of the submarine’s hull is complete.
The process took approximately eight days. However, officials from the headquarters of the Northern Fleet do not share the enthusiasm of the Dutch, who are hurrying to report completion of the work. According to the military, it will be possible to talk of this phase of work as being completed only after divers check the cut line and free it from parts of the submarine which may hamper the salvage operation. Signing the act of accomplishing the work will be the final stroke.