Missing sub’s distress call

A MISSING Argentine submarine may have sent distress signals, say officials.

The country’s defence minister said seven satellite calls were received on Saturday, which are believed to have come from the stricken ARA San Juan.

Search efforts were doubled amid rising fears about the fate of the 44 submariners on board.

The Royal Navy has deployed HMS Protector, an ice patrol ship, to help with the search, and offered a C-130 Hercules aircraft stationed in the Falkland Islands.

The diesel-electric sub was last contacted on Wednesday, before vanishing 267 miles off Argentina’s southern Atlantic coast as it returned from a routine mission. The navy believes it may have had communication difficulties caused by an electrical outage.