The first notes, discovered last year when 12 bodies were pulled from the Arctic deep, revealed that crew members who survived the initial blasts knew they were about to die.

Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov said the latest message was written by senior non-commissioned officer Oleg Borisov. He said the note was personal.

"A farewell note from a sailor has been found," Ustinov, who heads the teams of investigators on board the Kursk, told a news conference.

"I will not read the note to you as it gives us no new information and its contents are purely personal," he said, adding the message was found inside a plastic mineral water bottle.

Ustinov said workers had recovered the bodies of 49 servicemen as they made their way through the dank and mangled interior of the submarine, now in a dry dock in the Arctic port of Roslyakovo.

Salvage divers pulled the bodies of 12 servicemen from the wreck a year ago while it lay on the Arctic seabed, but halted the rescue operation when it was deemed too dangerous.

RADIATION LEAK FEARS

Local residents had said they feared radiation leaks and the possible detonation of missiles still aboard as the Kursk was being pulled into dry dock.

But officials have recorded no abnormal radiation levels and the Russian navy has ruled out any detonation of the Kursk's 22 cruise missiles, which have a range of 500 km (300 miles) and the power to destroy an aircraft carrier.

Navy commander Vladimir Kuroyedov said this week eight live missiles had been extracted from the vessel's starboard side.

He said that all compartments of the ship were now being inspected after investigators had completed their search of the ship. The vessel's bow, heavily damaged in the accident, remains on the Arctic seabed and is to be raised next year.

President Vladimir Putin, criticised for remaining on holiday as attempts to rescue the crew proved fruitless, promised angry relatives the submarine would be lifted whatever the cost and the bodies handed over for proper burial.

The exact cause of the accident remains unclear.

Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, heading the government probe into the disaster, said on Monday the vessel sank after one of the submarine's torpedoes exploded, leaving open the possibility that the ship collided with an unspecified object.

Investigators say the cause of the accident will be found only when the bow section is brought ashore.