Time running out for missing sub
Argentina's navy yesterday confirmed that an unusual noise heard in the ocean near the last known position of an Argentine navy submarine appeared to be an explosion, dashing the last hopes of finding the vessel and its 44 crewmembers.
Concern for the missing submarine and its crew has gripped Argentina since it was reported overdue at its Mar del Plata base on November 17, two days after the explosion.
"An anomalous, singular, short, violent and non-nuclear event consistent with an explosion," occurred shortly after the submarine's last communication, navy spokesman Captain Enrique Baldi told a news conference in Buenos Aires.
After days of false hopes, families of the crewmembers keeping vigil at the base reacted angrily to the news, saying the navy had lied to them over the past week.
"I feel cheated," said Itati Leguizamon, whose husband was on the San Juan.
Underwater sounds detected in the first days of the search by two Argentine search ships were determined to originate from a sea creature, not the vessel. Satellite signals were also determined to be false alarms.
Russia was the latest navy to volunteer to a multinational sea search, sending an oceanographic research ship as the operation shifted focus from rescue to recovery.
The week-long search has focused on the sub's last known position, around 200 miles off the Argentine coast, but has been hampered by bad weather.
The San Juan, a 34-year-old German-built diesel-electric submarine, had reported a battery problem on November 15 and said it was diverting to its home base at Mar del Plata, but did not send a distress signal, according to the navy. A former submarine commander told AFP a problem with batteries, as the sub had reported, could cause an explosion.
Argentina is leading an air-and-sea search with help from several countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Peru, Russia, the United States and Uruguay.
Despite mechanical problems, the crew could survive indefinitely if the sub retained the ability to rise to the surface to "snort" or replenish its air.
Comments