Hopes are sunk
Blast near site of missing Argentine submarine
AN OMINOUS explosion was detected off the eastern coast of South America around the time and place where an Argentine submarine carrying 44 crew members mysteriously disappeared last week, authorities have confirmed.
The disappearance of ARA San Juan last Wednesday has been shrouded in mystery, but Argentine Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi shared one of the most specific and ill-boding details yet during a press conference Thursday.
“There was an explosion,” Balbi told reporters at the Mar del Plata Navy Base, describing the blast as “an anomalous event that was singular, short, violent.”
U.S. agencies involved in the rescue mission confirmed the “hydro-acoustic anomaly” occurred a few hours after the Argentine navy lost all contact with the submarine, which was supposed to arrive at the base on Monday.
Family members of the missing crew members, who gathered at the base for psychological counseling, burst into tears after Balbi delivered the potentially devastating news. Some lashed out in anger and feared for their relatives, who had complained about a battery problem before losing contact.
“They sent a piece of crap to sail,” said Itati Leguizamon, the wife of crew member German Suarez.
Balbi stressed the search for the sub will continue until there is full certainty about what happened.
The German-built submarine was commissioned in 1985 and received a $12 million retrofitting in 2014. Experts say such repairs can be highly complex as they involve the integration of systems produced by several different manufacturers, and even the smallest mishaps can put crew members at risk.
Earlier Thursday, officials said a U.S. plane had found an unidentified object in the water where the submarine went missing.
James Patton, Jr., a retired U.S. Navy captain, feared the explosion could be a sign that the submarine sank into the South Atlantic, where depths can reach 10,000 feet.
“If a submarine goes below its crush-depth, it would implode, it would just collapse,” Patton said. “It would sound like a very, very big explosion to any listening device.”