RAF plane lands in Argentina for first time since Falklands War to help search for missing submarine

The ARA San Juan submarine disappeared on Wednesday while returning to its base in Mar del Plata
EPA
Tom Powell22 November 2017

An RAF plane has landed in Argentina for the first time since the Falklands War as it joins the search for a missing submarine.

The ARA San Juan disappeared about 300 miles off Argentina’s southern Atlantic coast last Wednesday after reporting a battery failure.

The UK and four other countries are helping Argentina in the search, while relatives of the submarine's 44 crew members have gathered at its base in Mar del Plata desperately awaiting news.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said an RAF Voyager, which took off from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, arrived in the South American country on Wednesday.

Members of the Argentine Navy look down from an airplane in search of the submarine (REUTERS)
Reuters

It marks the first time since the Falklands conflict in 1982 that an RAF aircraft has landed in Argentina.

The MoD said the Voyager is packed with three tonnes of equipment, including 12 deep emergency life support pods.

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

HMS Protector, a Royal Navy ice patrol ship, arrived on Sunday and was deployed to the submarine's last known location. It used its sonar equipment to search below the waves for the missing vessel.

An RAF C-130 has also joined the search following an offer of assistance, and members of the specialist Submarine Parachute Assistance Group are also offering expert advice.

People pray outside the Argentine naval base in Mar del Plata
AFP/Getty Images

HMS Clyde, an offshore patrol vessel, which was returning from a patrol to South Georgia has also assisted with the search efforts.

If the German-built submarine had sunk or was otherwise unable to rise to the surface, it would now be at the end of its seven-day oxygen supply, Argentina’s navy said.

"Oxygen is a permanent worry. Every day that passes is more critical," naval commander Gabriel Galeazzi said on Tuesday.

The international search teams are combing the waters in a wide area of some 185,000 square miles.

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