MISSING SUB WILL RUN OUT OF AIR TODAY
Navy clings to search hope as weather improves
RESCUERS were last night running out of time to save the crew of the missing Argentine submarine as its air supply will not last beyond today.
Strong winds and high seas have hampered the search for the ARA San Juan after it vanished last Wednesday in the Atlantic.
Ships and aircraft from seven countries, including British exploration vessel HMS Protector, are involved in the hunt.
The submarine’s command had reported a problem and said it was going back to port.
There are growing concerns about how long the 44 people on board could survive if the vessel sank 300 miles from the coast. Naval commander Gabriel Galeazzi said: “A warship has a lot of backup systems to allow it to move from one to another when there is a breakdown.”
The crew has enough food and fuel to survive 90 days on the surface, but only seven days’ oxygen if submerged.
On Monday, officials said noises picked up by search vessels did not come from the sub, the second false alarm, dashing hopes of a rescue for anxious relatives waiting at Mar del Plata Naval Base.
Argentine politicians sparked fury when they attacked the Royal Navy’s involvement. Argentina’s Workers’ Party leader
Gabriel Solano tweeted: “F*** you! pirates. You are responsible for war crimes, like the sinking of the General Belgrado,” in reference to the light cruiser hit during the Falklands War in 1982.
Ordinary Argentinians slammed him. Silvia Del Palacaio wrote: “Surely no-one can be much an A***HOLE!!!”.