Argentine Navy loses contact with sub-44 on board

This is hopeful news...

If the hull is intact, it can withstand ocean depths up to about 600 meters (1,970 feet), Layton said. If the vessel is resting on Argentina's continental shelf, it is likely in waters shallower than 600 meters, but if it's farther out into the Atlantic Ocean, it could be below its crush depth, in which the hull buckles under pressure.

www.cnn.com...

The Argentine navy says an event consistent with an explosion was recorded near where a submarine disappeared last week with 44 crew on board.
A navy spokesman said an "abnormal, singular, short, violent, non-nuclear event" had been detected in the south Atlantic.
www.bbc.co.uk...

I think it's starting to look like this will be a recovery mission rather than a rescue.

a reply to: gortex

It might have been the batteries blowing. There's still a chance that some of them are alive, but the batteries are occasionally known for releasing toxic gas. Sadly, this will probably end with a recovery, but there's still some hope.

The area the explosion was heard straddles the continental shelf. The water drops to 10,000 feet near that area.

abcnews.go.com...

Not good news at all.

I will keep hoping this turns into a miracle for the sake of those men and their families.

BUENOS AIRES, November 23. /TASS/. Russia has proposed to dispatch an oceanographic ship to Argentina in order to assist the search for a missing Argentine submarine, the San Juan, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday following a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Argentine President Mauricio Macri. The Argentine President thanked his Russian opposite number for offers of assistance while Putin said on his part he would immediately send a high-tech oceanographic ship that would be very instrumental in an operation of this kind. The ministry also said the two Presidents had agreed that the Russian and Argentine Defense Ministers would discuss the ways of implementing Moscow’s offer of cooperation. More: tass.com...

tass.com...

The last messages reported that water entered the snorkel while they were charging the batteries. This caused a short and either a fire, or smoke without a fire that they later reported contained.

www.bbc.com...

They're still looking in the area the explosion was reported, but most search activity has been called off.

This is sad news. What a terrifying way to go.

Theres a book called blind mans bluff i recommend everybody read. The things submariners go through is uterly terrifying and the book is full of first hand accounts. From subs colliding underwater to sinkings and crews sacrificing their lives to rescue others trapped in certain bulkheads during these emergencies.

They're still looking in several locations apparently, but it's pretty much a given that they're on eternal patrol now. The Argentine Navy released the timeline of the events that day.

November 15, 12:30 a.m.: The sub's captain calls his land-based commander by satellite phone, saying that seawater has entered the vessel's "snorkel," a tube that reaches the surface to refresh the vessel's air and recharge the batteries. He says the water caused a short-circuit in the battery system in the vessel's bow and the beginnings of a fire, or smoke. The smoke was put out and the short-circuited system was isolated.

The captain indicates that the battery- and diesel-powered sub would continue traveling with its stern batteries.

6 a.m.: The captain types the same message and relays it to base electronically, as is protocol following a phone conversation.

7:30 a.m.: The captain calls base again, this time to say that the vessel is traveling, submerged, as planned, without any personnel problems.

10:31 a.m.: A sound consistent with an explosion is detected in the ocean, near the sub's last known location.

www.cnn.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Sad..... Why did they travel submerged after losing half their battery power? Its not like its wartime. Take the safer option.

a reply to: pavil

Weather. There were storms in the area, which is probably how water got in through the snorkel. It was actually safer for them to run submerged. When the search first started they were in 6 foot plus seas.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Guess that makes sense, South Atlantic can be pretty nasty.

The Argentine Navy officially ended the search for survivors.

"Despite the magnitude of the efforts made, it has not been possible to locate the submarine."

- Enrique Balbi (Argentine Navy Spokesman)

frontlinevideos.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

News just in....

The Argentinian submarine that vanished last month was being chased by a British helicopter and Chilean ship shortly before disappearing, one of the doomed vessel's sailors told his sister in a "strange" message that was one of the last sent from the sub.

Argentina submarine chased by British helicopter before vanishing, sailor's sister claims

a reply to: fluff007

According to the MoD there are no British ASW helicopters in the area, and that report has been denied by several sources. There are a few issues with it as well.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I wouldn't completely disregard the possibility of our (UK) forces having some role in this just yet.

a reply to: CulturalResilience

Even IF they have ASW birds in the area, I'd love to see how a sub that was supposedly traveling underwater, managed to have Internet connectivity, or a cell signal, so he could have sent that message, considering the lengths that you have to go to if you're going to communicate with one normally. And they're not going to raise their antenna to allow people to call home.

a reply to: Zaphod58

That particular report is almost certainly spurious, but UK forces playing some part in whatever has taken place with the sun is not something to discount. Not only are we very devious, we are also highly accomplished obfuscators.

a reply to: CulturalResilience

Except that the report of an explosion was a single explosion. There were no sounds of torpedoes or mines, or anything else recorded besides the one explosion that was probably the sub crushing. Add to that the known reports of mechanical problems and bad weather forcing them to submerge.....

Saying that the UK could be involved is like saying 1+1=Car.