Missing sub reported mechanical issue

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November 21, 2017

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Missing sub reported mechanical issue

Source: AFP | 00:01 UTC+8 November 21, 2017 |

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Argentina’s navy yesterday revealed that its missing submarine reported a mechanical breakdown in its final communication, and that weekend signals did not come from the vessel, dimming hopes for its 44 crew members.

The nature of the breakdown was not immediately clear. It was the first time the navy indicated it had been aware of a problem.

“The vessel surfaced and it reported a breakdown. It was therefore asked to change course and go to Mar del Plata,” said Gabriel Galeazzi, the head of the naval base in the northeastern city, located 400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires.

A spokesman for the navy said that seven signals received by naval bases over the weekend were not attempted distress calls from the submarine, as previously hoped.

“We’ve received the report from the company that analyzed the signals — the seven attempted calls did not come from the submarine’s satellite phone,” he said. “We have still been unable to contact them.”

The ARA San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric sub, made its last contact last Wednesday.

A multinational air and sea search is under way with help from countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, the United States and Uruguay.

The submarine’s fate has gripped Argentina, with President Mauricio Macri vowing to find it as soon as possible, as relatives of the crew members wait for news in Mar del Plata.

On Saturday, the navy said it had received seven calls that day but they did not lock in, an announcement that left many cautiously optimistic they were signs of life from the vessel’s crew.

The ARA San Juan, a TR-1700 class submarine, had been returning from a routine mission to Ushuaia, near the southernmost tip of South America, to Mar del Plata.

It is one of three submarines in the Argentine fleet.

Sixty-five meters long and seven meters wide, it was built by Germany’s Thyssen Nordseewerke and was launched in 1983. It underwent a refit between 2007 and 2014 to extend its use by about 30 years.

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Missing sub reported mechanical issue

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