ARA San Juan: Search continues for missing Argentine submarine after false alarm over undersea 'noise'

The ARA San Juan submarine disappeared on Wednesday while returning to its base in Mar del Plata
EPA
Tom Powell21 November 2017

Argentina’s navy is still searching for a submarine missing with 44 crew members on board after a noise detected undersea proved to be a false alarm.

Experts determined the “noise” did not come from tools being banged against the hull of a submarine, as had been reported.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said the sound – heard about 220 miles from the Argentine coast and at a depth of about 650ft - likely came from a "biological" source.

The ARA San Juan disappeared 268 miles off Argentina’s southern Atlantic coast on Wednesday after reporting a battery failure.

Signs in support of the submarine's crew at the naval base in Mar del Plata
AP

The sub was journeying from the extreme southern port of Ushuaia to the coastal city of Mar del Plata.

Seven brief satellite calls were received on Saturday, but it later emerged they had not come from the missing vessel.

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri (left) talks to navy chiefs about the search operation (REUTERS)
Reuters

The communication attempts received were originally thought to indicate that the crew was trying to re-establish contact and had prompted celebrations by family members and officials.

But Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said on Monday that the seven low-frequency satellite signals were analysed and do not correspond to the submarine, the ARA San Juan.

Argentina is now being assisted in its search by the UK, US, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.

Search units have been using information gathered from a British polar exploration vessel, the HMS Protector, which was equipped with an underwater search probe.

Among the 44 crew members is Eliana Krawczyk, the first female submarine officer in Argentina.

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