The first divers to reach the submarine reported that 26 men undoubtedly were dead, apparently caught in the rush of water into several of the submarine compartments.
'A United Press correspondent who flew over the scene of the disaster as the first group of survivors were being brought to the surface saw the bell rising slowly near seven large Navy and Coast Guard ships and numerous smaller craft clustered around the salvage vessel Falcon.
The bell rose above the surface about ten feet from the side of the Falcon and sailors guided it to the side of the ship with boat hooks and ropes. The bell was raised within four feet of the deck, leaving thrcequarters of the rescue chamber submerged. The survivors then were lifted through the hatch.
The survivors were transferred to the cruiser U.SS. Brooklyn where they were examined in an emergency hospital.
Rescue of the first group of'survivors required a little less than two hours from the time the bell was dropped. Subsequent trips required about an hour each which was exceptionally fast in view of the difficulty of making the hatch connections at a depth of 240 feet.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.