Kamchatsky. After initial navy statements that the sub got caught in a fishing net while training, Russian media reported that it had been repairing the sonar system that tracks U.S. submarines. The emergency was reminiscent of the August 2000 Kursk submarine disaster, when 118 men died on board the giant nuclear-powered submarine that crashed into the seabed of the Barents Sea after explosions in its bow. This time, however, Russia was quick to ask for foreign assistance, contacting the United States, Japan and Britain to assist, even though Kamchatka is a zone of heightened security due to its naval facilities. The crisis again underscored the Russian navy's lack of readiness for underwater rescue operations despite the bitter lesson of the Kursk tragedy. Russian rescue vessels at the site lacked diving equipment that might have been used to free the submersible.
