Crew of missing Argentine sub ‘are dead’
THE families of sailors on board a submarine missing for over a week have been told their loved ones are dead, it was reported last night.
There were angry scenes after the Argentine navy said an explosion could have occurred in the South Atlantic three hours after ARA San Juan went missing on November 15.
Families of the 44 people on the Argentine craft said they felt ‘deceived’ after news of the apparent explosion, described as an ‘abnormal, singular, short, violent, nonnuclear event’.
Itati Leguizamon, whose husband, German Suarez, is among the missing, said the families were given the grim news yesterday that their loved ones were likely to be dead.
Luis Tagliapietro, father of missing crew member Damian, also said he had been told ‘they are all dead’.
Officially, Argentina’s navy is declining to speculate on the fate of the sub’s 44 crew members and have vowed to continue the search for the stricken vessel.
The navy has said an ‘abnormal, singular, short, violent, non-nuclear event’, had been detected in the Atlantic three hours after ARA San Juan went missing.
Analysis from US and Austrian experts revealed a ‘hydroacoustic anomaly’ after the boat had reported a fault with its batteries.
The revelation of the apparent explosion led to cries of anger from waiting relatives.
Speaking outside the Mar del Plata Naval Base, Ms Leguizmon said she felt ‘deceived’ by navy officials.
She claimed they had ‘lied’ to families and withheld information on the missing submarine.
Some relatives had become ‘aggressive’ when they were told, Ms Leguizmon said, and were ‘breaking things’ inside the base.
Search vessels have been desperately combing an area with a 120km radius close to the submarine’s last known position amid concerns the oxygen supply could run out.
Captain Enrique Balbi, a spokesman for the Argentine Navy, said the relatives of the crew had been informed and that the search would continue until there is full certainty about the boat’s fate.
He insisted the report from the US had only been ‘officially’ received on Wednesday and the second from Austria – which offered more details on the source of the anomaly.
Helena Alfaro, sister of a radar officer on the missing sub, said: ‘I feel like I’m waiting for a corpse.
Yesterday ships and planes returned to a search area to check on the noise that experts say could provide a clue to the vessel’s location.