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Russian, NATO Officials Discuss Submarine Rescue
A senior Russian naval officer said here Thursday that the 118 sailors on board the stricken Kursk submarine could survive for two more weeks before their oxygen runs out.
Russia's Naval Vice Chief of Staff Alexander Pobozhy, head of a visiting Russian delegation, told a meeting of NATO delegates that in an incident some years ago when a Soviet submarine sank, survivors were found after three weeks.
"From our experience with the Soviet submarine forces, it can be as long as two to three weeks," he said.
Russian and NATO officials held a four-hour meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels to discuss what kind of assistance the western alliance could offer to help save the 118 crew of a nuclear submarine trapped on the bed of the Barents Sea.
The 14,000-ton Kursk has been stranded about 107 meters below the Barents Sea since last Saturday after a major disaster -- thought to have been caused by a collision or an explosion.
Russian rescue efforts have failed so far and Russia has accepted offers of help from Britain and Norway on Wednesday.
Currently, Britain and Norway are sending personnel to the accident site. A British rescue submarine and back-up staff were flown to Norway Wednesday en route to the tragic spot. Norway said it would send up to 15 divers from its offshore oil and gas industry.
But the rescue submarine and divers are not expected to be in the position until Saturday.
NATO officials said further offers of help could involve rescue equipment and equipment to deal with the medical aftermath, such as decompression chambers.
World reaction showed that hopes of finding any of the Kursk crew alive are fading after tapped SOS signals stopped on Tuesday.
NATO officials said Thursday's meeting between Russians and NATO delegates in Brussels include a telephone link-up with British submarine rescue experts in Morthwood, England, and a wider discussion about the angle at which the Kursk was lying on the seabed, the water and the weather conditions, and other organizational and technical matters.
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