Sailors in dress uniforms stood rigid on a ship deck today as wreaths were tossed into the sea to honour 118 of their comrades who perished five years ago when the nuclear submarine Kursk sank.

Russian military and civilian officials unveiled a bronze monument to the crew of the Kursk nuclear submarine in Moscow today, marking the second anniversary of the explosion that sank the vessel.

Families of the 118 men killed when the submarine Kursk sank have gathered in the Russian port of Murmansk for a pilgrimage to the doomed boat's home base.

The operation to raise the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk is approaching the challenging phase of cutting the badly damaged bow section from the rest of the ship.