Kursk mission crew prepare to leave Aberdeen

The international team bidding to raise the sunken Russian nuclear submarine, the Kursk, are making their final preparations.

The crew will sail in the 300 ft dive support vessel DSND Subsea Mayo from Aberdeen Harbour to the wreck site in the Barents Sea.

First they have to complete a 'familiarisation' briefing as well as preparations on the ship.

The team should take around a week to reach the site.

Once there, they will prepare the wreck for a lifting operation planned for mid-September by clearing the submarine of soil and cutting holes into the vessel to allow lifting equipment to be attached.

All 118 crewmen on board the Kursk were killed when the submarine sank on August 12 last year after it was rocked by a series of explosions during a training exercise.

Rescue attempts were abandoned on August 21 when the submarine was found to be entirely flooded.