Sub crew almost suffocated

2005-08-07 09:22

Moscow - How much air did the crew of a Russian mini-submarine have left after being stuck at the bottom of the sea for three days?

Estimates from officials ranged widely and the real answer might never be known. But indications were that they were getting dangerously close to suffocation before a British undersea robot freed their stranded vessel on Sunday and the seven-man crew resurfaced alive and well.

Their vessel submerged for a routine training mission off the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's far east region at 23:48 GMT on Wednesday. It resurfaced at 03:15 GMT on Sunday after being stranded at a depth of 190 meters for just over 75 hours.

According to technical specifications reported in the Russian press, the Priz AS-28 mini-sub can hold a supply of oxygen sufficient for four people for 120 hours, or five days. But the vessel retrieved Sunday had seven crew aboard, considerably reducing that time.

Various Russian naval officials gave accounts of the crew's remaining air supply that ranged from 12 hours to five days, leaving an impression in public that they did not have a clear notion of how much oxygen remained and failing to offer explanations for such wide discrepencies.

News that batteries used to power the vessel's air filters had failed only compounded questions about how much breathing time the crew had left, though the vessel also carried oxygen tanks for use in diving that could have prolonged that supply by a few hours.

Commander Jonty Powis, a member of the British Royal Navy team whose help was decisive in saving the Russian crew, said it was his understanding that the Russian sailors had 10 to 12 hours of air left when they were rescued.

- AFP