Escape from our "metal coffin" on the ocean floor
When the Peruvian submarine Pacocha crashed and plunged 42 metres down to the seabed with 22 sailors inside, it was First Lieutenant Roger Cotrina Alvarado's job to save his crew.
In 1988, after colliding with a fishing trawler at the surface, the Peruvian submarine Pacocha sank to the bottom of the Pacific ocean. With 22 men trapped inside, with no water, a fire on board and depleting oxygen, First Lieutenant Roger Cotrina Alvarado was determined to save his crew. An escape plan was hatched, but getting out of the submarine was only the first step - they still had to find a way to make the 42-metre ascent to the surface. Would they make it out alive? Part 2 of 2.
Part 1 is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1kx3
Presented by Clayton Conn
Produced by Clayton Conn and Mariana Des Forges
Interpreter: Martin Esposito
Picture: Collage of photographs of the Pacocha, crew, the submarine and Roger Cotrina Alvarado receiving a medal
Credit: all photos courtesy of Roger Cotrina Alvarado
Get in touch: [email protected]
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- Sat 17 Jul 202108:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 17 Jul 202117:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 18 Jul 202108:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 18 Jul 202122:32GMTBBC World Service
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