All sailors rescued from AS-28 mini-sub in normal condition, doctors say

There was very little fresh water and absolutely no food on board the sunken mini-submarine

The seven members of the rescued AS-28 mini-sub are currently staying at the cardiological department of the military hospital in Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky, in the Kamchatka region of Russia.

There were seven crewmembers on board the rescued AS-28 mini-submarine: lieutenant Vyacheslav Milashevsky, navigator Anatoly Popov and sailors Sergei Belozerov, Alexander Wibin, Alexander Ivanov, Valery Lepetukha and Gennady Polonin.

All the seven seamen wrote dying notes to their families, relatives and friends several hours after the AS-28 diving vessel was trapped 196 meters under the water, a source told Interfax on Monday. Sailors' wives saw the notes in the military hospital, where doctors are examining the rescued sailors. Both the navy men and their wives decided not to destroy the notes to keep memory of the underwater captivity and the long-expected salvation. 

Accident with the AS-28 mini-submarine: Photo gallery

There was no food and very little fresh water on board the mini-sub, the sailors said. The men had to take three or four sips of water a day and eat bread crumbs for four days as they were trapped in the vessel on the Pacific floor.

It is noteworthy that all of the rescued men said that they would continue their military service in the Russian Pacific Navy. The navy men told about their intention personally to the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Ivanov, who visited them at hospital. The minister gave the sailors flowers and asked them if they were going to continue serving in the naval forces of Russia. The answer to the question was positive.

Ivanov offered the sailors to discuss vacation plans with their families in spite of the fact if they had already had vacations or not. The minister ordered the doctors to do their best to let the sailors return to their homes as soon as possible. Ivanov promised that the Defense Ministry would help organize medical treatment for the sailors in Russia's best clinics, if necessary.

The doctors confirmed the normal condition of all of the saved seamen and said that the preliminary medical examination had not revealed any serious symptoms but common cold.