After learning the tragedy that befell the No. 361 submarine of the Chinese Navy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sent condolence messages to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Jiang Zemin respectively on May 3; French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also sent their condolence messages to President Hu Jintao over the submarine disaster, expressing their sorrow at the death of the Chinese Navy sailors and extended their sincere condolences through the Chinese leaders to the families of the victims of the disaster.