Grief and rage as Argentine navy confirms missing submarine suffered explosion - but fate of crew unknown
Relatives break down as survival hopes for 44 crew members appear to dim
The Argentine navy confirmed on Thursday that its missing submarine experienced an explosion on November 15 in the South Atlantic Ocean but had no information on the fate of the 44 crew members.
“There was an anomalous event (which was) unusual, short, violent and non-nuclear, consistent with an explosion,” Argentine navy spokesman Captain Enrique Balbi said at a news conference in Buenos Aires.
Balbi declined to speculate on the fate of the crew and whether there was a chance of rescuing them. Assuming that the submarine remained intact after the blast and is resting on the ocean floor, the ship had only a seven-day supply of oxygen, which might have run out on Wednesday.
The explosion took place 385km east of the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina’s Chubut province. The blast was detected less than 65km from where the submarine’s captain, Pedro Fernandez, last communicated with onshore authorities and mentioned problems with the ship’s battery system.