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Private sub captain changes story, now says reporter died, was 'buried at sea' – torso found

Crowdfunded submersible story somehow gets weirder

The story of a Danish inventor and a missing Swedish journalist has taken a bizarre turn, as Peter Madsen now claims he buried Kim Wall at sea.

Madsen, being held on manslaughter charges, told a Copenhagen court Monday that the reporter perished when the 26-foot-long UC3 Nautilus submarine, one of the only privately funded crafts of its kind, had an accident on August 10 that caused one of its ballast tanks to fill with water unexpectedly while in Denmark's Køge Bay.

Madsen was rescued by another boat and the Nautilus was subsequently recovered.

After initially claiming that he had dropped off Wall near the port, Madsen now says the reporter died as a result of the accident and was buried at an undisclosed location in the bay.

The admission by Madsen is the latest twist in what has already been a very strange story around the events of August 10. Wall, who was working on a story about Madsen and the Nautilus, went aboard the sub that evening and was reported missing by her boyfriend.

The 33-ton Nautilus, known as the largest amateur-built sub in the world, was put together by Madsen and a group of friends in 2008 with help from crowdfunding campaigns. The sub relaunched in April following a six-year refit effort. It now sits in police custody.

Meanwhile, police say they have recovered a human torso (sans limbs and head) from the bay, but the remains have yet to be identified. ®

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