Hope For Canadian Sub

British military officials were optimistic Thursday they could begin towing a disabled Canadian submarine to shore within 24 hours, as the crew faced a third night adrift in the stormy north Atlantic.

A member of the 57-strong crew of HMCS Chicoutimi died Wednesday from injuries sustained in an electrical fire that crippled the vessel on its maiden voyage under Canadian colors. A second sailor was in a life-threatening condition, a doctor said.

Lt. Chris Saunders, 32, died after being airlifted off the vessel, one of four secondhand British subs acquired by the Canadian Navy. The Chicoutimi, which was handed over from Britain on Saturday, was sailing for Halifax, Nova Scotia, where it had been due to arrive on Oct. 18.

Two other crew members were taken by British military helicopter to a hospital in Sligo, northwest Ireland. Consultant physician Joe McKenna said one, whose condition had worsened, was in intensive care with extensive lung damage. In Halifax, Commodore Tyrone Pile, commander of the Canadian Atlantic Fleet, said the third crewman was in serious but stable condition.

Six other sailors who suffered smoke inhalation remained aboard the sub, which was drifting some 100 miles northwest of Ireland.

Attempts to reach the sub since it sent out a distress signal on Tuesday, have been hampered by rough seas and gale-force winds.

But Commander Andy Webb, captain of the first British ship to reach the Chicoutimi, HMS Montrose, said the remaining 54 members of the crew "are in great spirits."

"There is no immediate risk but the situation is very serious. We are watching developments carefully and trying to get hot food and coffee to the submarine this afternoon," he said.

Webb said the diesel-powered sub had regained some hydraulic and electrical systems and rescuers were hopeful of getting a towline to it before dusk on Thursday. It will be towed to shore beginning Friday, if weather permits, and is expected to reach the Faslane naval base in Scotland on Sunday.

"This is a very significant rescue operation and we are only in the beginning stages," Webb said.

In Canada's House of Commons on Wednesday, Prime Minister Paul Martin paid tribute to Saunders, who was married with two children.

"He gave his life serving his country and we owe his family our deepest condolences," Martin said. "We pay him homage and we make known our deep respect to his family."

Rescuers had intended to take the three injured men to a hospital in Derry, Northern Ireland, but had to divert on short notice to Sligo, in the Republic of Ireland, because Saunders' condition deteriorated and he needed immediate treatment.

Officials had initially described Tuesday's electrical fire as small. But Pile said Wednesday it was "a major fire" that was worse than first thought.

The incident has highlighted concerns about four secondhand subs Canada recently purchased from Britain.

A deal for the four Victoria-class submarines was agreed in 1998, but the handover experienced lengthy delays amid escalating costs and technical problems. Critics say the subs have a checkered history, cost too much and were not in good shape.

The submarines were originally built in the late 1980s and early 1990s for the British navy. They were mothballed in 1994 when Britain decided to stick with an all-nuclear submarine force.

The Chicoutimi is the last of the subs to be delivered to Canada, but making them operational has been delayed by the need to repair cracks found in key valves after the vessels were brought out of storage.

Ray Henault, chief of the Canadian defense staff, defended the acquisition of the used subs.

"This is something that can occur on any submarine, indeed any vessel, aircraft or vehicle that we have," he said.

But David Rudd, president of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, said the political fallout for the Canadian government could be serious.

"We did sign for that vessel before we took it out. Does that mean we missed something?" he said. "I'm sure there'll be red faces in Ottawa, but it's an open question whether or not they're red faces of frustration or embarrassment."

A number of submarine accidents in recent years have had deadly consequences.

Last August, an aged Russian nuclear submarine being towed to a scrapyard sank in a gale in the Barents Sea, and the defense minister said nine of the 10 crew aboard died in the accident.

The preceding May, a mechanical malfunction aboard a Chinese submarine killed a reported 70 crew members.

The USS Greeneville collided with a Japanese fishing vessel off Hawaii on Feb. 9, 2001, killing nine men and teen-age boys on the fishing boat. In August, the sub went aground while trying to enter the Saipan seaport in rough seas.

In the summer of 2000, the Russian submarine Kursk was lost with 118 men on board.