Argentine submarine carrying 44 sailors missing

A large-scale search and rescue operation has been launched after an Argentine navy submarine lost contact with 44 sailors while on patrol, RT reported.

ARA San Juan submarine (Photo: Reuters)

RT news agency quoted a statement from the Argentine military saying that the ARA San Juan submarine of the Argentine Navy last appeared on radar while operating in the St. George Bay area, Chubut province, in the early morning of November 15.

Local media said that the ARA San Juan had a fire, while Argentine military spokesman Enrique Balbi refused to comment on this information.

"The information about a fire is not official information although it is possible that the ship has had a technical problem. We have not been able to contact the ship yet. If there was a problem with communication, the ship would have surfaced instead of operating underground," the spokesman said.

Argentina has deployed a coast guard unit, a patrol plane and a helicopter to join the search and rescue. "There are no signs of deterioration in the ship's condition, it is just that it is temporarily out of communication. All communication centers along the Argentine coast have been instructed to pick up all the signals the ship can use," added spokesman Balbi.

The missing submarine was built in Germany in 1985 before being handed over to the Argentine Navy in 1986. It is a diesel-powered submarine. It was upgraded in 2008 and is expected to have a service life of 30 years.

According to Dan Tri