A British unmanned submersible cut the trapped Russian minisub loose, allowing it to surface. The crew members were obviously exhausted, but all were unharmed. A team of American divers assisted on the surface.
I once toured a submarine, the Guardfish, in San Diego, and the sailors who manned that vessel earned my admiration. I followed with interest the trajedy of the Kursk, which sank after a defective torpedo exploded on board, with the eventual loss of all the crew. I didn't expect to see the above picture.
The British submersible - known as a Scorpio 45 - is maintained by a civilian company on contract to the British Navy and is supposed to be ready to deploy within 12 hours. It had, fortuitously, been readied for a training exercise when the order came, shaving at least four hours off its response time, the commodore said.
Even so, after landing in Kamchatka on Saturday, the Russians were unable to unload much of the equipment. Only when the American C-5 arrived, carrying the Navy's own rescue vessel, as well as special loading equipment, could the British effort begin in earnest, Commodore Metcalfe said. He described it as evidence of the necessity of international cooperation in undersea rescue.
Well done. God bless all of those involved.
The central figure above is Lt. Vyacheslav Milashevsky, the minisub commander. Below is his family, waiting for news.
Recent Comments