Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-07-08
STRICKEN SUB LIES
.245 FEET DOWN IN
.TREACHEROUS SEAS
French Authorities Believe
Raising Her Is Almost
Impossible Task.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
CHERBOURG, France, July 8.-Sal-
wage vessels lowering above the spot
where the submarine Promethee went
down yesterday reported air bubbles On
the surface this afternoon.
They also found the Promethees
, telephone buoy, and it was believed that
there was still telephone connection
with the ship on the bottom
The submarine, with more than so
men aboard, lay in 245 feet of water
seven miles north of Cape Levi.
1t is a bad spot, with treacherous
currents and an uneven bottom. The
prevailing impression ashore was that
raising her would be an almost impos-
sible task.
Salvage Ship Summoned.
Nevertheless. the first thing the au-
thorities did this morning when the
hull was located was to call for help
from the italian salvage vessel Artiglio
II, which left BreSt for Cherbourg i'm
mediately.
One of the seven men who were saved
told story this morning which II it
was accurate, indicated some of the
men in the ship might have been
drowned very quickly.
This man was on the deck when the
Promethee sank. There was a kissing
noise which brought the captain up
from below in a hurry, he said.
Apparently the captain saw at a
glance that his ship was in danger,
for he ordered all hands below and all
doors shut quickly
-Four doors were kicked shut" said
the sailors, but there was another
open to the officers compartment. /
saw one Of the men try to close it but
| 1t damned. Then the ship went out
from under our feet and we were swept
into the water. 1t looked to me as
though the sea would go through that
door with nothing to stop it,"
Leaky oil tanks and possibly poor
functioning of the submarines exhausts
or maladroit maneuver by one of the
civilians aboard were given unofficially
as probable causes of the submarine S
sulden dye.
Necessity for pinning hopes for a
rescue on deep sea diving gear was all
the more apparent when it was discoy-
cred that the hull of the Promethee
lies SO deep in the stormy channel
! flood
Commander Aids Search.
Awaiting help the navy concentrated
on the search the complete power of its
own resources. Three tugs, two sub
marines and four seaplanes took up the
quest
With Admiral Malavoye, chief of the
/ searching crew, was Lieut. Amaury du
/ MeSnil commander Of the Inflated sub
/ marine, one Of the rescued.
| Police received an erroneous report
/ that Lieut.. du Mesnil had committed
| suicide. 1t was quickly denied.
/ Throughout the night searchers for
the hull were hampered by the fact
/ that the buoy, to which Lieut.. du Mes
! nil and his colleagues had chung until
/ they were rescued by fishing craft,
had sunk, but it was hoped with calmer
seas this would again be visible.
I Otnclais OF the maritime prefecture
said they were still unable to form any
/ definite opinion as to the cause of the
/ sudden sinking Of the submarine. They
said they knew nothing of reports it
was sunk by an explosion. but a traWler
/ which crossed the spot reported a large
spot OF oil over the place soon after
the ship went down.
! The survivors knew nothing of an
explosion, they said All they could
say was they were on the deck at the
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