Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=8/5/2005

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= RUSSIA/SUB (L-only)

NUMBER=2-326413(CQ)

BYLINE= ANNA ARDAYEVA

DATELINE= MOSCOW

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HEAD: Russia Struggles to Rescue Sub Crew

INTRO: The Russian navy is struggling to rescue the seven man crew of a mini-submarine that is stuck on the bottom of the sea off the country's Pacific coast. Russian officials have appealed for international help, and some reports say the crew may only have enough oxygen for 24 hours. Anya Ardayeva reports from Moscow.

TEXT: The Russian AS-28 deep-sea observation sub became entangled in a fishing net during a military exercise in almost 200 meters of water. Russian navy officials say the vessel was too deep to allow the sailors to swim to the surface on their own or for divers to reach it.

The accident occurred in Beryozovaya Bay, some 70 kilometers south of Kamchatka's capital, along the rugged Pacific coast.

Earlier in the day the Russian Pacific Fleet commander (Admiral Viktor Fyodorov) told state television that a Russian vessel had managed to hook a cable to the stranded sub and was trying to drag it to more shallow waters in an effort to rescue the crew.

There has been confusion about how long the air supply on the stricken vessel will last. At one point the Pacific Fleet Commander said the air could last for several days, but that information was later contradicted, and officials were saying the air might only last till Saturday.

The U.S. Navy, which has been asked to help in the rescue effort, says it is rushing two unmanned mini subs to the scene of the disaster. Officials say a giant C-5 transport plane carrying the U.S. mini-subs will probably arrive on the scene early Saturday.

Russian Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. Alexander Kosolapov said contact had been made with the sailors in the stricken vessel, who were not hurt.

He said the situation should not be dramatized and that the plan of action was to find out what exactly kept the sub from moving, then figure out how to release the sub and lift it to the surface.

The incident comes almost five years after a Russian nuclear submarine, the Kursk, sank in the Barents Sea killing all 118 crew members on board. Russian officials, including President Putin, came under sharp criticism for their handling of the crisis. (Signed)

NEB/AA/KBK/PT