Moscow, Aug. 12 (Reuters): The Russian navy bungled the rescue of seven submariners stranded in the Pacific, the country’s second most senior admiral said today in a rare admission of failure.

The British navy helped rescue the sailors on Sunday after three days trapped in a AS-28 mini-submarine that had become entangled in fishing nets and an antenna 190 metres underwater off the Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific Coast.

“We have all the latest equipment which was bought after the Kursk but it was not used in Kamchatka due to bungling,” navy chief of staff Admiral Vladimir Masorin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Masorin was speaking on the fifth anniversary of the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine when all 118 sailors died on board, provoking a storm of criticism against the navy.

He said there was “deception,” which prevented the navy command from assessing the real situation, though he didn’t clarify what he meant. The comments marked rare public criticism from Russia’s top brass who preside over an armed forces that President Vladimir Putin has promised to reform but which still relies heavily on outdated equipment.

A special Russian-run rescue vessel was in place, Masorin said, but had been damaged by improper use, he said. The operators for the vessel were on holiday at the time, he said. Masorin, heading an investigation into the incident, has been widely tipped by local media to become the head of the Russian navy.