The News

Danes Scan Home-Made Submarine for any Concealed Areas

Police technicians board the amateur-built submarine UC3 Nautilus on a pier in Copenhagen harbour, Denmark, Monday morning, Aug. 14, 2017, to conduct forensic probes in connection with a murder investigation

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish police on Tuesday scanned a home-made submarine where Swedish journalist Kim Wall was last seen alive, saying they are looking for any possible concealed cavities.

The 40-ton, nearly 18 meter-long (60 foot-long) submarine, which sank earlier this month, now stands on land in a remote corner of Copenhagen’s harbor where a mobile cargo scanner has been deployed.

In Tuesday’s statement, police said Swedish colleagues with dogs specially trained to search for corpses in the water were combing the Copenhagen coast looking for clothing and more missing body parts from Swedish journalist Kim Wall. Her naked, headless torso was found Aug. 21. That search is expected to last two days, police said.

On Monday, a search with a plane over the coastline produced no results, police said.

Inventor Peter Madsen is being held in the death of the 30-year-old Wall, who was last seen alive Aug. 10 aboard the submarine. Madsen, who faces preliminary manslaughter and indecent handling of a corpse charges, has denied wrongdoing. He says Walls died in an accident and he buried her at sea.

Police said earlier that Wall’s head, arms and legs had been deliberately cut off and a piece of metal had been attached to the torso “likely with the purpose to make it sink.” Police also said marks on the torso indicated that someone had tried to press air out of the body so it wouldn’t float.

Madsen was detained after being rescued Aug. 11 from the sinking submarine. Police believe that Madsen deliberately scuttled the vessel.

JAN M. OLSEN