Two little unmanned US Navy submarines were being loaded aboard a cargo plane in California today to join an attempt to rescue seven Russian sailors trapped in a military mini-submarine on the Pacific floor.
The remote-controlled, deep-diving "Super Scorpio" submersibles were to depart San Diego for Petropavolvsk on an Air Force C-5 later today with a team of Navy operators, said Lt. Junior Grade Maria Miller, a Navy spokeswoman at the Pentagon.
Ms Miller said the underwater vehicles, capable of cutting through steel cable, would be moved by truck to a Russian ship to be taken to the scene in an attempt to aid in the rescue.
The submersibles and their operating crews are attached to the Navy's Deep Submergence Unit based at the naval base in San Diego.
The vessels are 4 feet (1.2 metres) long, 4 feet (1.2 metres) wide, 8 feet (2.4 metres) high and weigh 4,500 pounds(2045 kg). Ms Miller said they were capable of diving to an ocean depth of 5,000 feet (1,515 metres).
"It has the capability of cutting steel cable 1 inch (2.54 cm) thick," she said.
In Russia, officials said they requested help after the small Russian submarine apparently became tangled in the cable from a fishing net.
"We're going to move the resources that we think can be helpful to the scene as rapidly as possible," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters in Washington. "Efforts are being led by the Russian government and it (US assistance) is something that they have asked for."
Whitman noted the US move followed steps by the American and Russian navies to work more closely in such areas as undersea rescue. The two militaries conducted a bilateral undersea rescue exercise in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy in June.
"While every situation is certainly unique and presents its own set of challenges, it's not something that hasn't been thought through. And it has been rehearsed to some degree and practiced," the spokesman said.