Argentina’s navy says undersea sounds didn’t come from missing sub, dashing rescue hopes

Sounds detected by probes deep in the South Atlantic on Monday did not come from an Argentine submarine that has been lost for five days, the country’s navy said Monday, dashing new-found hope among relatives of the 44 sailors aboard.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters that the “noise” was analysed and experts determined it was likely “biological.” He said the sounds did not come from tools being banged against the hull of a submarine as was previously reported by some media.

“We all had hope, but unfortunately this comes from believing sources that are not trustworthy,” Balbi said. “Some sources were saying that this was banging on the hull in Morse code signals.”

The noise was heard by two Argentine navy ships about 360km from the Argentine coast and at a depth of about 200 metres. A US Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft was sent to help in the effort to isolate the source of the sounds.

The ARA San Juan went missing Wednesday as it sailed from the extreme southern port of Ushuaia to the coastal city of Mar del Plata. More than a dozen international vessels and aircraft have joined the search, which has been hindered by stormy weather that has caused waves up to 6 metres high.

In the first confirmation of a malfunction, an Argentine navy official said earlier Monday that the submarine reported a battery failure Wednesday and was returning to base when it went missing.