VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) — A deep-sea diving vessel with seven sailors aboard snagged on an unidentified object and was stuck on the sea floor off Russia's Pacific Coast, Russian navy officials and news reports said Friday.
Navy officials were trying to determine why the military vessel, called a bathyscaph or mini-submarine, was stuck some 625 feet below the surface before starting rescue efforts, Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. Alexander Kosolapov said in televised comments. He said it might be caught on a cable or fishnet.
Russian news agencies said there was contact with the sailors, who were not hurt. A similar vessel is being sent to assess the situation, and ITAR-Tass reported that authorities were preparing to send a similar vessel to assess the situation.
Kosolapov said that there was likely enough air for the sailors to live for four days, because such vessels typically have oxygen supplies for 120 hours and the accident occurred Thursday during a training exercise, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russian news agencies said there were seven people aboard the vessel.
The accident occurred almost exactly five years after the nuclear submarine Kursk sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea after explosions on board, killing 118 seamen in a painful and embarrassing blow to the Russian navy. Several of the sailors survived for hours after the accident as oxygen ran out, and Russian authorities faced criticism for their response.