Another Russian Sub in trouble
This time, the people are OK and help is on its way. From
Sky News:
RUSSIAN SUB TRAPPED
Rescuers are in a race against time to free the crew of a Russian mini-submarine trapped more than 600ft below the Pacific.
The US Navy has sent two specialist rescue submarines to help in the mission to retrieve the sub which has a crew of seven.
It became stranded after getting caught up with an unidentified object off the Kamchatka Peninsula on Russia's Pacific Coast.
The Russian navy is trying to find out how it happened - although one theory is that the vessel became entangled with a fishing net.
Captain Igor Dygalo said a US plane was delivering a robotic rescue vehicle to the accident site.
He also said Britain was providing unspecified "rescue means".
Pacific Fleet spokesman Captain Alexander Kosolapov said the sub was 625ft below the surface - equivalent to the height of London's BT Tower.
He said there was contact with the sailors, who were not hurt.
Conflicting reports said there was enough oxygen in the vessel to last between one and five days.
The accident has echoes of the Kursk tragedy in 2000, when a torpedo shaft exploded on a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea.
Official dithering and a refusal to accept foreign help were blamed for the deaths of all 118 sailors on board.
No word on what it was doing there -- there is a lot of oil in that region so maybe they were propspecting... Just a guess.
Sending my prayers to the crew.
Posted by DaveH at August 5, 2005 2:07 PM