72 Hours

5 August 2005. While conducting a secret mission thirty miles off the remote cost of Kamchatka, the Russian Navy submarine AS-28 became snared in the thick cables anchored to 60-tonne concrete blocks. Without power the stricken boat sunk to the seafloor. Trapped 600 feet down - too deep to escape - her crew of seven now had just seventy two hours before the air onboard ran out.

Twenty-four hours later - still haunted by the loss of the Kursk - the Russian Navy requested assistance. And on their side of the world, Commander Ian Riches, Boss of the Royal Navy s Submarine rescue team got the call: there was a sub down.

With their expertise and specialist equipment, he knew his team had a chance to save the men, but Kamchatka was at the very limit of their range. And the clock was ticking. As Riches and his men prepared to deploy to Russia s Pacific coast aboard a giant Royal Air Force C-17 airlifter, rescue teams from the United States and Japan were also scrambled to the area.

After the failure of the Russian Navy s own attempts to rescue them, the crew of the AS-28 shut down all of their boat s non-essential systems, climbed into thick thermal suits to keep the freezing cold at bay and waited, desperate to eke out the stale, thin air inside the pressure hull of their submarine. But as the first of them began to drift in and out of consciousness, they knew their time was running out...

Frank Pope is the Ocean Correspondent of The Times and presenter for the BBC. Previously he worked on underwater expeditions all over the world under the auspices of Oxford MARE(Maritime Archaeological Research and Excavation Unit), including the excavation of Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Agamemnon. He divides his time between London and Nairobi.

5 August 2005. The Russian navy submersible AS-28 was stuck fast. With 600 feet of freezing water above them, there was no escape for the seven crew. Trapped in a titanium tomb, all they could do was wait as their air supply slowly dwindled. On the other side of the world, Commander Ian Riches got the call: there was a sub down. Riches knew that his team had a chance to save the men, but the sub was at th every limit of their range, and time was running out. On board AS-28 , the crew shut down all non-essential systems, climbed into thick thermal suits to keep the bone-chilling damp at bay and waited, desperate to eke out the thin, stale air. But as the first of them began to drift in and out of consciousness, they knew the end was close. They started writing their farewells . . . 'Marvellous . . . navigates the technical details and twists and turns of this rousing story with . . . nailbiting tension' DAILY MAIL 'A suspenseful, true-life tale' THE TIMES

5 August 2005. While conducting a secret mission thirty miles off the remote cost of Kamchatka, the Russian Navy submarine AS-28 became snared in the thick cables anchored to 60-tonne concrete blocks. Without power the stricken boat sunk to the seafloor. Trapped 600 feet down - too deep to escape - her crew of seven now had just seventy two hours before the air onboard ran out.Twenty-four hours later - still haunted by the loss of the Kursk - the Russian Navy requested assistance. And on their side of the world, Commander Ian Riches, Boss of the Royal Navy s Submarine rescue team got the call: there was a sub down.With their expertise and specialist equipment, he knew his team had a chance to save the men, but Kamchatka was at the very limit of their range. And the clock was ticking. As Riches and his men prepared to deploy to Russia s Pacific coast aboard a giant Royal Air Force C-17 airlifter, rescue teams from the United States and Japan were also scrambled to the area.After the failure of the Russian Navy s own attempts to rescue them, the crew of the AS-28 shut down all of their boat s non-essential systems, climbed into thick thermal suits to keep the freezing cold at bay and waited, desperate to eke out the stale, thin air inside the pressure hull of their submarine. But as the first of them began to drift in and out of consciousness, they knew their time was running out...

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