‘There’s many o’ them that’s Mongolian, Andrew.’
He turned back to Liang Hui. ‘Come along wi’ us then laddie. We’ll be lookin’ after ye.’ He took Liang Hui gently by the arm and the three of them set off towards the car.
EPILOGUE
Bodo, Oct. 13 — A Soviet naval officer is reported missing from Russia’s ballistic missile submarine 731 stranded on Vrakoy, an island of the Vesteralen Group off Norway’s west coast.
The officer, Lieutenant Ivan Krasnov, was last seen in the island’s only town, Kolhamn, on the night of Oct. 11. A search is proceeding.
The Soviet Embassy in Oslo has dismissed as unfounded reports that the officer may have defected.
Oslo, Oct. 16 — The Soviet ballistic missile submarine 731, refloated on Oct. 12 after stranding on the Norwegian island of Vrakoy, is reported to have been lost in a gale off the North Cape while under tow to Murmansk by Soviet salvage units.
Reuters, quoting eye witnesses on board a Norwegian tanker in the area, said: ‘The submarine, supported by floating “camels”, was under tow by three tugs with an escort of Soviet naval vessels. During the gale the “camels” broke free and the submarine sank bows first soon afterwards. Tugs were seen attempting to pick up survivors but the severity of the gale is thought to have caused heavy loss of life.’
On Monday Pravda reported briefly the loss at sea in recent weeks of a submarine used for training. An official in the Soviet Embassy, Oslo, said: ‘We have no information about this.’
Washington, Oct. 18 — Officials of the United States Navy in the Pentagon have confirmed that a Soviet naval officer, Lieutenant Krasnov, has defected and is now in the United States.
The lieutenant was an officer on board ballistic missile submarine 731 which recently foundered in a gale off the North Cape while under tow by Soviet salvage tugs. Prior to the disaster in which many lives were lost, the submarine had been refloated after stranding on the island of Vrakoy off the Norwegian coast. She was being towed to the Soviet Naval Base at Murmansk for repairs.
The Tass Agency here refused to comment on Lieutenant Krasnov’s reported defection.
21st October, 1974