Russia praises UK sub rescuers

2005-08-07 16:05

London - Britain trumpeted its role in the dramatic rescue of seven Russian sailors from the depths of the Pacific, after a British rescue vessel untangled their mini-sub just as oxygen was running out.

Defence secretary John Reid called the operation to salvage the Priz AS-28 vessel "a fine example of international co-operation in the face of great difficulty".

"Britain has a world-leading capability in the field of submarine rescue, and we have been able to utilise that capability to save lives," he said.

The rescue, 75 hours after the Russian vessel became snagged on the seabed 190 metres underwater during military exercises, was completed with just hours of oxygen supplies left for the stranded crew.

Arrival

The key to the submariners' rescue from the seabed roughly 70 kilometres from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, was the arrival of a British navy team with a sophisticated Scorpio underwater robot.

Using powerful cutters, the Scorpio slashed through the cables of a coastal defence antenna and a fishing net, in which the AS-28 had become trapped. The submarine was able to surface within six hours.

The commander of Russia's Pacific fleet saluted British expertise in the dramatic rescue.

"We bow before the experience brought by the sailor-rescuers of Great Britain's Royal Navy," said Admiral Viktor Fyodorov, describing the British team as having "good technical equipment" and "the highest professionalism".

Obstruction

"It was this that freed our submarine from the obstruction."

British naval Commander Jonty Powis said the mission was a close shave, since the stranded submariners had just 10 to 12 hours before oxygen supplies ran out.

"This was a fairly routine procedure, but the fact that we were dealing with people's lives created extra difficulties," he said.

- AFP