Sunken Danish submarine owner denies manslaughter; reporter missing
STOCKHOLM: The owner of a sunken Danish submarine accused of manslaughter in connection with the disappearance of a female reporter has denied the charge against him, local media reported on Saturday.
Peter Madsen said he was intent to give his account after prosecutor Louise Nielsen cited the charge before a Copenhagen court judge, news agency Ritzau reported from the Copenhagen District Court.
Madsen’s attorney, Finn Bachmann, said his client denied the allegations.
The reporter, aged 30, has not been seen since Thursday evening when she and Madsen sailed out from Copenhagen harbour.
Madsen has said he dropped off the Swedish national that night at an island in the Copenhagen harbour, but she has not been seen since.
She had been writing an article on Madsen, Swedish daily Sydsvenskan reported.
Meanwhile, Danish police on Saturday began efforts to recover the18-metre long submarine, UCR Nautilus, which sank on Friday, shortly after Madsen from the vessel.
“We hope to raise it and take it to port,” duty officer Carsten Reenberg said, adding it was not clear how long was rescued the salvage operation would take.
The submarine was located at a depth of seven metres in the Bay of Koge, south of Copenhagen.
Since the submarine was not stable, divers were on Friday unable to enter the vessel. Later yesterday, a Danish judge ordered Madsen to be held on remand for 24 days over involuntary manslaughter.