Posted on 12/01/2017 2:22:00 AM PST by BenLurkin
The Argentine Navy has called off rescue efforts to find 44 crew members aboard a missing submarine, effectively acknowledging that there's no hope they'll be found alive.
The ARA San Juan disappeared a few hundred kilometers off Argentina's coast on November 15, and despite an extensive air and sea search no sign of the sub has been found.
Balbi wouldn't speculate on the fate of the crew, but said the search for the missing sub will continue until it's found.
"Despite the magnitude and efforts made it has not been possible to locate the submarine. Information was received from two sources of international organizations that report an anomaly and acoustics in the vicinity of the last known position of the San Juan submarine and later confirmed with an event consistent with an explosion," Balbi said.
At the height of the search, 28 ships and nine airplanes scoured the sea, backed by more than 4,000 people over a search area of more than 15,000 miles off the Argentine coast.
Eleven countries joined the searching including Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Peru, the United States and United Kingdom.
Few clues point to the submarine's fate, but in recent days authorities have released more details of what's known to have happened before it vanished mid-way on its journey from Usuaia in the country's south and northern port of Mar del Plata.
Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters Thursday the navy had allowed nearly double the amount of time it would have been possible for the crew to stay alive if the submarine remain submerged. Officials had earlier said the submarine had enough air to last seven to 10 days.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Sad story. RIP sailors.
It would be nice to know how the accident occurred but I think the Argentine government would prefer not to ask for help or make a big effort on the rest of this search.
My guess...gas escaping from the malfunctioning battery exploded.
Maintenance wise...if the newspaper accounts are correct, they were marginally capable of running subs. You won’t see any crew willing to board the remaining subs unless major funding is poured into them.
“It would be nice to know how the accident occurred but I think the Argentine government would prefer not to ask for help or make a big effort on the rest of this search”
Yeah, problem is, there are troughs in the Argentine Sea that are almost three miles deep. So, the sub has probably been crushed like an empty beer can.
I’m on a British Falkland Islands war group on Facebook. For a long time, the Argentinians trolled it pretty hard. Now, peace is breaking out- the British were among the first to offer and provide assistance.
Kind of nice to see.
Always my worst fear. Devastating.
They have no business having a sub.
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