(UTV|COLOMBO) – The Argentine navy raised the possibility that a navy submarine missing in the South Atlantic suffered an explosion, heightening concerns over the fate of the 44 crew members on the eighth day of an international search effort.
A sound detected underwater by an international agency on the morning of Nov. 15, around the time the ARA San Juan sent its last signal and in the same area, was “consistent with an explosion,” navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters.
The sub had only a seven-day supply of oxygen, a fact that drained hope from some of the relatives of the crew who have gathered at the vessel’s base in the city of Mar del Plata.
The navy did not have enough information to say what the cause of the explosion could have been or whether the vessel might have been attacked, Balbi said.
Search-and-rescue crews were undeterred by a series of false leads that raised hope over recent days that the sub might be located. Asked during an evening news conference about the fate of the 44 sailors, Balbi said the situation was “critical”.
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