Kursk children holiday in Scotland

Relatives mourned the sailors deaths last August

DUNFERMLINE, Scotland -- The children of sailors killed when the Russian submarine Kursk sank have begun a holiday in Scotland.

The children lost their fathers among the 118 sailors who died last August when the nuclear sub sank in the Barents Sea during a training exercise.

Naval families and members of the public raised thousands of dollars for the children's holiday, which coincides with the on-going Kursk salvage operation.

During the week-long trip the children, aged 10 to 19, will receive honours from the Fife Council.

RESOURCES Animation: How the Kursk will be raised   (Web link courtesy of kursksalvage.com  -- External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive)   MORE STORIES Kursk salvage operation      IN-DEPTH Raising of the Kursk   • Russia's military plight   • Kursk namesake   • Comparative sizes   • Diagram: Last refuge   • Damage to the sub   • Timeline of sinking   • News search   • Message board   • Quick vote   • In-depth: Sub disaster   • Download salvage images     From kursksalvage.com   • Kursk salvage animation     From parallelgraphics.com     (External sites not endorsed by CNN)

Gary Halpin, a member of the committee which organised the visit, told the Press Association that he was delighted with the Fife Council's gesture and the reception the children received from the Navy community and the locals.

"It's a great honour for the children and we're grateful to Fife Council," he said.

"The children are a lot more relaxed now than when they arrived and are having a great time," he added.

Meanwhile, the salvage operation continued with divers cutting holes in the outer hull of the wreck on Sunday.

They had been working on the wreck around-the-clock in six-hour shifts since Saturday, Interfax news agency said.

Steel cables are expected to be attached on September 15 so that the sub can be hoisted to the surface.

Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said: "The operation to raise the Kursk is going to plan."

A special pontoon, 140 metres long and 36 metres wide (460 by 120 feet), will hoist the submarine on 26 cables to just below the sea's surface, when it will be towed to the Russian port of Murmansk.

Russia has contracted Dutch salvage company Mammoet and marine services firm Smit International to recover the Kursk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, strongly criticised at home for not cutting short his vacation at the time of the tragedy, has told relatives of the crew the Kursk will be raised this year at any cost.

Russian and Norwegian divers retrieved 12 bodies from the Kursk in November but their mission was called off because of rough weather and the danger from broken equipment inside the submarine.

Putin told journalists last week that Russia had an obligation to lift the Kursk to bring those remains home, determine the cause of the accident, and remove its two nuclear reactors from the Barents Sea.

Russia has maintained that no radiation has leaked from the wreck but says the two-month salvage operation is to ensure it poses no future danger.

The team of 16 deep-sea divers -- from Britain, Russia and the U.S.-are involved with the salvage.