Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Russians recount cold, dark ordeal on sub
    (AP)
    Updated: 2005-08-08 10:38

    Russian authorities thanked the British and praised the international effort that included the United States, but criticism quickly arose over why the nation's once-formidable navy needed outside help.

    The relief over the successful rescue attempt was in sharp contrast to the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in August 2000, when Russian authorities held off asking for outside assistance until hope was nearly exhausted; all 118 crew died.

    President Vladimir Putin was criticized then for reluctance to seek international help and for remaining on vacation as the disaster unfolded. The president has been silent through the present crisis as well, although his spokesman Alexei Gromov said Putin was grateful to all those involved in the rescue operation.

    Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who supervised the rescue operation from a navy ship, clenched his fists and shook them in happiness when he saw the red-and-white-striped sub surfacing.

    "We have seen in deeds, not in words, what the brotherhood of the sea means," he said.

    On Monday, he promised that the navy's rescue capabilities would be improved.

    "The condition of the rescue service is one of our priorities and I will demand that they are maintained on the highest level," Ivanov said at a news conference.

    He also said that Russia has a robotic vehicle similiar to the Super Scorpio, but it was deployed at the Northern Fleet and disaassembling it for transport to an airport and then flying it across the sprawling country would have been a longer process than it took for the British vessel to arrive.

    The Foreign Ministry issued a statement praising the joint actions of the Russian, British and U.S. militaries in the "unique rescue operation." It also thanked Japan, which it said also responded to the request for help.

    The United States sent remote-controlled underwater vehicles for the rescue. They arrived several hours later and were not used, but three American divers and a doctor accompanied the British vessel on its mission.

    The jubilation came after three tense days that started Thursday when the 44-foot submarine stranded in 600 feet of water off the Kamchatka coast.

    Russian ships first tried to tow the sub to shallower water where divers could reach it but were able to move it only about 60 to 100 yards in the Beryozovaya Bay.

    The British remote-controlled Super Scorpio, sent in response to Russia's urgent call for help, spent six hours cutting away the fishing net cables that had snarled the Russian vessel and its propellor.

    British Royal Navy Commander Ian Riches said the most nerve-racking point in the operation was when the Russian submarine broke free from the cables and disappeared from the camera's sight before surfacing about 4:26 p.m.

    "It was a difficult operation, but we enjoyed doing it," he told The Associated Press. "The team are over the moon that we have got these guys out alive."

    The circumstances surrounding the cause of the accident remained unclear.

    Putin ordered the defense minister to launch an investigation. Dygalo declined comment when asked about how the sub was trapped, saying only that it had been "engaged in planned maneuvers."

    Some naval officials had said the submarine was participating in a combat training exercise when it got caught on an underwater antenna assembly that is part of a coastal monitoring system.

    But Riches, the British commander, said the vessel had become tangled in fishing nets, as had been originally reported.

    "The submarine was caught very firm into the fishing nets and had driven into them so that they were very tight and they actually looked and behaved like steel wires, so it was very, very difficult to cut through with cutting implements," Riches told The Associated Press.

    The new crisis indicated that Putin's promises to improve the navy's equipment have had little effect. He was sharply criticized for his slow response to the Kursk crisis and reluctance to accept foreign assistance.

    New criticism arose within hours of Sunday's rescue. Dmitry Rogozin, head of the nationalist Rodina party in the lower house of parliament, said he would demand an assessment from the Military Prosecutor's Office of the navy's performance in the incident, the Interfax news agency reported.

    Rogozin said he wants to know why Russia has not acquired underwater vehicles similar to the ones provided by Britain and the United States and "why fishing nets and cables litter the area of naval maneuvers."


    Page: 12



    Japanese PM launches general election campaign
    Katrina slams US Gulf Coast, oil rigs adrift
    Japan's 6 parties square off in TV debate
     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    President Hu Jintao: Gender equality crucial

     

       
     

    Special grants offered to poor students

     

       
     

    EU takes steps to unblock China textiles

     

       
     

    Farmers sue county for illegal land use

     

       
     

    Search for 123 trapped miners suspended

     

       
     

    Hurricane Katrina rocks New Orleans

     

       
      Bush promises post-storm help for victims
       
      Sharon: Not all settlements in final deal
       
      Hurricane Katrina rocks New Orleans
       
      Sri Lanka PM focuses on ending civil war
       
      Musharraf warns Pakistan Islamic schools
       
      Katrina may cost insurers $25 bln
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      News Talk  
      Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
    Advertisement
             
    亚洲精品无码午夜福利中文字幕| 亚洲av永久无码精品国产精品| 亚洲av日韩av无码| 丝袜熟女国偷自产中文字幕亚洲| 无码午夜成人1000部免费视频 | а中文在线天堂| 国产精品午夜无码AV天美传媒| 蜜桃臀AV高潮无码| 91视频中文字幕| 免费无码AV一区二区| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕久久| 中文成人无码精品久久久不卡| 久久人妻无码中文字幕| av一区二区人妻无码| avtt亚洲一区中文字幕| 日无码在线观看| 人妻无码视频一区二区三区| 亚洲一区日韩高清中文字幕亚洲| 在线看福利中文影院| 国产成人精品无码一区二区| 亚洲AV中文无码字幕色三| 中文字幕在线免费| 天堂√中文最新版在线下载| 影院无码人妻精品一区二区| 黄A无码片内射无码视频 | 无码国产精品一区二区免费vr| 精品无码国产自产在线观看水浒传 | 精品无码久久久久久国产| 精品无码AV无码免费专区| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区久久久| 中文自拍日本综合| 欧美日韩毛片熟妇有码无码 | 精品久久久无码人妻中文字幕豆芽 | 中文有码vs无码人妻| 三上悠亚ssⅰn939无码播放| 色婷婷久久综合中文久久一本| 国产中文欧美日韩在线| 亚洲欧美日韩一区高清中文字幕| 亚洲日本va中文字幕久久| 91视频中文字幕| 中文字幕无码高清晰 |