Mini-submarine AS-28 lifted to the surface at 07:26 a.m. (ALL 7 ALIVE )

Interfax ^ | August 7, 2005

[george76]

Mini-submarine AS-28 lifted to the surface at 07:26 a.m., Moscow time,with all seven crew members

[don-o]

I reckon we will sort it out tomorrow. Tonight, main thing is seven men saved- their families have their loved ones alive.

[jocon307]

"Here's to you, Mr. submarine recovery technician."

Oh gosh, you are making me want to sing!

[Krankor]

Free at last!

[don-o]

Do we have this sub in US hands now? This should be a great catch!

Uh, it is a bit more subtle than that. The Ruskies invited us in for a rescue in most sensitive waters - the bases of their Pacific fleet!

This seems hugh to me.

[CyberAnt]

I agree .. I don't care who saved them - they're alive and their families are full of joy tonight.

[tflabo]

So much for the evil westerners coming to the rescue of fellow infidels.

[dc-zoo]

Let's just hope and pray our seven astronauts make it home safe early monday morning.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Great news, thanks.

[happyathome]

My thought exactly. Those Scorpions have still cameras, I hope. Next step - send in a couple of US attack subs to test how they're going to react to having their SOSUS line disrupted.

[higgmeister]

I believe this may be the actual picture of the SUB from "TASS."

[burzum]

As a former submariner, I should let you know that submarine rescues are typically unfeasible. Military submarines are equipped with emergency egress hatches and submarine docking hatches that will almost never be usable. In order to use the emergency egress hatches, your submarine must bottom out in fairly shallow water at a fairly stable angle. Considering that the vast majority of the oceans are deeper than what a person can survive during ascent (not to mention deeper than crush depth) these hatches are put on to make the families and Congressmen feel that a submariner can survive an accident. In reality, chances are very high you will die at crush depth if you have a major submarine accident. Submarine docking hatches are a better bet but you still have to have a level surface and have the submarine be above crush depth. Look what happened to the Kursk. Above crush depth, yet a rescue sub couldn't dock.

Docking hatches and egress hatches aren't like ejector seats in airplanes that routinely save lives. If you look at equipped submarines since the beginning of WWII to today, you will see that they save lives only rarely (maybe 1 in 10 or so). As a former submariner I would rather have money spent on QA and materials for your submarine than the joke of submarine rescue technology. Don't assume that just because a submarine rescue worked today that the next submarine accident will even be remotely survivable. Submarine rescue technology is about as useful as an ejector seat on the space shuttle. While it could save lives very rarely, it would cost a fortune.

[tflabo]

"I bet the crew could use a shower."...as they sang, 'We all live in a Red... errrrr Yellow submarine!

[ChadGore]

• A video grab shows a Russian vessel involved in rescue work in the Pacific Ocean August 6, 2005. The Russian navy, backed by a British deep-sea rescue machine, struggled on Sunday to free a trapped mini-submarine from the Pacific depths and save its crew before their air supply ran out. REUTERS/RUSSIAN POOL via REUTERS TV
  Reuters - 2 hours, 30 minutes ago

[de Buillion]

"The C-5 brought the Super Scorpio underwater robotic vehicle intended to help rescue the seven-man crew of a Russian mini-submarine trapped on the seabed off Kamchatka since Thursday. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)"

I heard that the C-5 brought TWO Scorpio's. Nice photo, thanks.

[Bush gal in LA]

Wow! Just got home. Fantastic news!

[topher]

I bet the crew could use a shower.

A nice warm one. There were reports of chilly temperatures on the submarine and oxygen running out. And there is also the possibility of decompression sickness with an emergency blow -- but maybe the air pressue was quite constant even at 600+ feet of water.

[VeniVidiVici]

A Russian border guard officer watches as a US Air Force C-5 transport plane taxies to a stop at the airport in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia

Interesting. Isn't this the airport where the MIGs that shotdown KAL 007 took off from?

[don-o]

I love to see posts from Freepers who actually know what they are talking about.

Would you say that Kursk crew could not have been saved, even IF the Ruskies had let us try?

[arjay]

No. It was the Brits. US never got to the site.

[Cacique]

And who built the Scorpio that allowed the Brits to perform such a feat?