Satellite signals from missing Argentinian submarine
Seven distress signals have been sent from the Argentinian submarine which has been missing since Wednesday, the country’s defense department announces.
The signals that were sent out on Saturday night indicate that the crew of the submarine has attempted to connect with the outside world via satellite. Through seven attempts, they have failed to connect to a communications center, writes CNN.
– We are now working to determine exactly where the signals have been sent from, but we assume they are coming from the missing submarine, the ministry reports.
The distress signals were sent on Saturday between 10.52 am and 3.42 pm local time, according to the channel. They vary in length between four minutes down to 32 seconds.
A large search operation is underway, and it is sought both from the air and water after the missing U-Boat ‘San Juan’ and its crew of 44. The Argentinean Navy has received assistance from six countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
– We will do everything we can to find the submarine as quickly as possible, says President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, on Saturday. The search area is doubled.
It is four days since the Argentine Navy lost contact with the crew on the submarine ‘San Juan’.
First female submarine officer
Among the 44 missing people is Argentina’s first female submarine officer, Eliana María Krawczyk (35).
– Let’s pray together for everything to be resolved and for nothing has happened to the crew. On the sea they are all brothers, it’s not like a boat which sails on the surface. Submarines are more risky, says her father Eduardo Krawczyk to the Argentine newspaper Todo Noticias.
The latest signals from the submarine came Wednesday morning when it was on its way back to the naval base at Mar el Plata 400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires after a routine mission to Ushuaia at the southern tip of the country.
The intense rescue mission originally included three ships and a helicopter.
– As the hours pass, we are more likely to face a tragedy, but there is still hope, said Fernando Morales, a maritime expert and vice president of the Argentine Navy to The New York Times.
The submarine, type TR-1700, is one of a total of three that the Argentine Navy possess. It is 65 meters long and seven meters wide and was built in Germany in 1983. It has undergone several refurbishing and adaptations, the latest in 2014.
© VG / Norway Today
