Second sub crewman fights for life

A SUBMARINE stranded in the Atlantic 100 miles north-west of Ireland was being towed back to Scotland last night, after a fire on board which claimed the life of a sailor.

The operation to rescue the stricken Canadian vessel Chicoutimi - en route from Faslane to Canada - started as a second crewman fought for his life in hospital.

Master Seaman Archibald MacMaster remained in the intensive care unit at Sligo General Hospital in the Irish Republic, where his condition was described last night as "critical, but stable".

He suffered extensive lung damage in the fire and may have to be put on a ventilator.

Another colleague, Petty Officer Denis Lafleur, was in a "stable" condition, a spokeswoman said, and had been "walking around the hospital".

She said Dr Joe McKenna, a medical consultant at Sligo General, was monitoring the two men, both of whom are receiving oxygen, on an on-going basis.

Lieutenant Chris Saunders, a 32-year-old married father-of-two, died on Wednesday night after the three injured sailors were flown to the nearest hospital, having being airlifted off HMCS Chicoutimi by a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from HMS Montrose, the first ship to reach the stricken submarine.

The Ministry of Defence said that the salvage vessel the Anglian Price had starting towing the Chicoutimi at about 9pm last night.

The rescue operation - which has been fraught with difficulty, as British and Irish vessels battled against heavy seas and galeforce winds to reach the submarine - got under way as the weather in the area improved.

The Anglian Prince was towing the Chicoutimi, one of four submarines bought from Britain, back to Faslane at a speed of about three knots, an MoD spokeswoman said.