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The Argentine Navy confirms the death of the 44 crew of the ARA San Juan
The worst of the scenarios was confirmed early in the by the Argentine Navy, when it has gathered the relatives of the crew to tell them the sad news of the death of the 44 crew of the submarine ARA San Juan disappeared last week. The Argentine Navy reported that it was analysing a 'hydro acoustic anomaly' that was detected a week ago in the Atlantic area where the last known position of the submarine ARA San Juan had been fixed, a noise that was recorded almost three hours after the Last communication with the ship.
Captain Enrique Balbi told the media at the headquarters of the Navy, in Buenos Aires, that a warning was received that responds to a 'hydro acoustic anomaly' detected near the last known position of the submarine, last Wednesday in the San Jorge Gulf area, 432 kilometers off the coast of Argentine Patagonia. "The United States -one of the 13 countries that collaborate in the search for the submersible- requested (data from) different agencies that are dedicated to gathering different hydro acoustic events around the world," he added.
After collecting all the information and doing a thorough centralized analysis in the United States, official indication was received that corresponds to Wednesday, November 15 in the morning, coinciding with the area of the last known position of the submarine. "This would be about 30 miles north of that position, on the way to Mar del Plata," the city to which the ship was heading from the southern port of Ushuaia and where it should have arrived between Sunday and Monday.
The hydro acoustic anomaly and the report sent by the US Navy has been reviewed in Argentina and sent to other international organizations that have confirmed that it was an underwater explosion in the area where the submarine should be. The Navy has gathered the relatives and transmitted the terrible news. The impact on the family members of the crew has been terrible. Many of them have left the meeting complaining about the management of the situation by the Government and the Argentine Navy.
The relatives wonder how it is possible that they were kept in suspense for a week, mobilizing the operation if the data to locate the San Juan were available from the same day the disaster occurred. On the other hand, the relatives continue emphasizing that the crew was sentenced from the moment in which the submarine went to sea due to the poor state of maintenance in which it was. Argentina is one of the countries in Latin America that least invests in defense since the time of 'Kirschnerism' that led the Armed Forces to a state of neglect that is now being paid.
Little has been revealed, yet, about how the Argentine Navy has confirmed the death of the sailors. It is known that the ship Cabo Do Hornos of the Chilean Navy and the Skandi Patagonia a ship in charter at the French oil company Total with an underwater rescue squadron of the US Navy, were in the area of the accident. The latest information indicates that the destruction of the submarine could be due to the explosion of one of its batteries due to a possible short circuit.
Source: Diariodenautica
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