Russian Sub Sinks, Seven Trapped With 24 Hours of Air

Russian Sub Sinks, Seven Trapped With 24 Hours of Air

Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A Russian mini-submarine used for rescuing bigger subs sank in the Pacific with seven sailors on board and 24 hours of air, the Navy said. Rescue ships, some Japanese, are en route to free the crew.
``The AS-28 has enough air for one day,'' Captain Igor Dygalo, aide to the head of Russia's Navy, said on state-owned RTR television today. ``We have a day and will continue our intense efforts to save the AS-28 and the people in it.''
The men are trapped under 200 meters of water off the Kamchatka Peninsula with a five-day supply of food and water, Dygalo said. The sub, the AS-28, sank yesterday after its propeller got caught in a fishing net.
Japan is sending four ships from its Maritime Self-Defense Forces, including the rescue vessel Chieda, which may not arrive before Aug. 8, Interfax said, citing senior Navy officials. The U.S. Navy has been contacted and may help in the rescue.
The loss of the Kursk submarine, which sank in the Barents Sea with 118 aboard on Aug. 12, 2000, was the first major test for newly elected President Vladimir Putin, who was criticized for not cutting his vacation short to return to Moscow and take charge of the rescue effort, which failed.
The 13.5 meter (44 foot) AS-28 was on a routine exercise in Berezovaya Bay, about 70 kilometers southeast of the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The sub can operate in depths up to 1,000 meters.
``The situation is atypical,'' Alexander Kosolapov head of the Pacific Fleet's press service, told RTR. ``But it's not worth dramatizing.''