''I danced, I was glad," Milashevskaya said in remarks on Russian television. ''I cried, and I danced for joy."
The crew, stuck in the cold submersible since Thursday, had been rescued earlier in the day after a remote-controlled British Scorpio underwater craft untangled the minisub from cables and fishing nets. Rescuers raced against time, as even optimistic estimates had predicted that oxygen would run out last night.
When the minisub surfaced, the crew was evacuated to a ship for medical aid. Arriving early in the evening yesterday at the port, Milashevsky, commander of the crew, gave a military salute to well-wishers before stepping onto the gangway.
''Did you believe you would be saved?" a reporter asked.
''Of course," Milashevsky said quietly.
Temperatures in the craft were reported at about 40 degrees, and the men had worn thermal suits to protect themselves from the cold. They had been told to lie flat and breathe lightly to conserve oxygen during the long, dark wait, with lights turned off to save power.
The 43-foot Russian AS-28 sub became entangled Thursday in old fishing nets and hoses and cables understood to be part of a top-secret underwater antenna system. Seeking to avert a replay of the Kursk submarine tragedy five years ago, which left 118 sailors dead after delays in seeking foreign aid, Russia quickly requested international help in this incident. Several countries responded, including Britain, the United States, and Japan.
The British craft was the first underwater vehicle to reach the scene. It freed the minisub just as a ship loaded with US Navy Super Scorpios was about to set out from the harbor, said Garth Sinclair, 37, a chief hospital corpsman who was among 30 sailors sent from Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, Calif. He said four members of the American team were present to assist the operation.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, sent by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to supervise the rescue operation from a navy ship, praised the cooperation, saying, ''We have seen in deeds, not in words, what the brotherhood of the sea means."
Vice Admiral Oleg Burtsev expressed gratitude to all nations that helped. ''It confirms that we have been pursuing a policy toward better relations between our fleets over the past few years," he said on state-run TV.
