Vladimir Putin defends staying on holiday

Defence analysts Jane's Information Group have estimated that most of the crew would not have survived an onboard explosion sufficient to sink the 18,300 tonne submarine.

The rescuers' main hopes now rest on a British submarine, due to arrive on Saturday at the spot where the Kursk sank in the Barents Sea on 12 August, with 118 men on board.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is returning to Moscow amid criticism of his handling of the crisis, has himself has said he was told as early as the evening after the vessel sank that there was very little chance of bringing any of the submarine's crew out alive.

But he defended his decision to stay on holiday on the Black Sea when the crisis struck, saying his first wish had been to fly to the scene, but he had feared his presence would hamper rescue work.

Hatch setback

"Everyone should keep to his place," he said slowly, looking grave.

British rescuers using a mini submarine will be concentrating their efforts on a rear escape hatch at the rear of the Kursk where any survivors are expected to be trapped. A team of British-Norwegian deep-sea divers arrive on Sunday.

But even those hopes received a blow on Friday when a Russian rescue capsule reached one of the escape hatches, but was unable to latch on because it was too badly damaged.

Video footage has shown massive damage to one side of the submarine.

Keeping watch: Rescuers have been thwarted by damage to the submarine

Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Ilya Klebanov, who heads a commission investigating the disaster, said there was a "terrifying hole" on the starboard side of the submarine.

"The majority of the crew was in the part of the boat that was hit by the catastrophe that developed at lightning speed," he said.

"There have been no sounds for quite a long time."

On Friday, a Norwegian seismic institute said it recorded two explosions on Saturday in the area where the Kursk sank.

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The biggest was equivalent to up to two tonnes of TNT, Norway's NTB news agency reported.

Paul Beaver, of defence analysts Jane's Information Group, said: "It could be that 30-40% of the crew may have survived the initial explosion if it did rip open the first two compartments."

The navy has given wildly contradictory estimates of how long the Kursk's emergency oxygen supplies could last, ranging from a few hours to two weeks.

Kursk timeline

Saturday: Sinks in Barents Sea during exercises Monday: Russian navy inspects stricken sub Tuesday: Attempts to attach rescue capsule fail Wednesday: Russians report no signs of life in the Kursk. Accept help from the West Thursday: British and Norwegian craft readied for rescue attempt

Families of sailors were unmoved by Mr Putin's explanation for remaining on holiday during the early days of the crisis.

Valentina Melnikova, head of the Russian Soldiers' Mothers committee, said: "Just like in Chechnya, the Kursk drama shows once again that human life has no value in the eyes of our military, and even less so in the eyes of our politicians."

Mr Putin had "deliberately sacrificed the crew," she told the French newspaper Aujourd'hui/Le Parisien.

Many Russians are also distressed that the military was slow to accept help.

The navy has not officially announced the names of the submarine crew, but Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper published a full list on Friday. It said it had paid navy officials for the names.