Russian submarine and crew saved

Russian submarine and crew saved

The Russian mini-submarine that has been stranded for three days 190 m below beneath the Pacific Ocean has been brought to the surface after an international rescue effort.

Fears had been rising for the seven-man crew, who had faced low temperatures and dwindling oxygen, but all seven were able to climb out of their submarine unaided.

The vessel was brought to the surface at 1626 local time (0326 GMT). A British underwater robot helped rescue the craft, slicing through nets and debris entangling the submarine.

Russian military medics were on standby to treat the men, who had faced temperatures as low as 6C (43F) and a faltering oxygen supply

Senior navy official Vladimir Pepelayayev said all the men were in a satisfactory condition, according to the news agency Interfax.

The British Scorpio craft had been working for several hours to cut the vessel free of the debris pinning it to the seabed off the Kamchatka peninsula.

The Russian mini-submarine was launched from a ship on Thursday as part of a combat training exercise in the Pacific Ocean off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, and details of the entanglement were carried in an earlier story in the earthdive news pages