Portsmouth, May 24.
NINE men were trapped 240 feet below the surface of the Atlantic 12 miles south-east of here yesterday when the U.S. Navy submarine Squalus settled on the ocean floor while making a routine dive.
The submarine was unable to rise because ofa jammed valve which prevented the release of ballast water.
Lieut.-Comdr. Oliver Naquin, commanding the submarine, reported by radio telephone a few hours after the accident that all aboard the submarine were well.
He believed they had sufficient air to sustain life for at least 48 hour Communications with the disabled submarine were interrupted later but Navy officials directing the rescue operations said there was no cause for alarm.
Navy Department officials in Washington, encouraged by the report from the commander of the Squalus, believed the crew of the disabled submarine was in no immediate danger.
They said that the submarine was equipped with a new type of "lung" in which seamen could rise from the depths without difficulty. One lung for each man and several spares were carried aboard the Squajus, they said.
Five divers who went over the side of the U.S.S. Falcon, salvage vessel, at 5.52 a.m. today reported that they had contacted the 59 entrapped men in the submarine Squalus which wallowed on the floor of the Atlantic.
The divers, however, had no means of determining whether the entrapped men were suffering from lack of oxygen. They therefore started preparations for fastening a rescue bell to the submarine for the purpose of bringing up the men.
The Falcon arrived on the scene of the disaster at 5.30 a.m. and immediately. prepared to lower the Navy's latest diving bell used for rescue operations.
Officials in charge of the operations said they had strong hopes of re-souing all officers and members of the crew by 4 pin. after which they would make an attempt to raise the submarine.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.