Mystery sounds in the South Atlantic ‘did not come from missing Argentine submarine’
The search continues for a missing submarine after mystery sounds detected by probes deep in the South Atlantic did not originate from the underwater vessel.
Hopes had been raised that the sounds came from the Argentine ARA San Juan, which has been lost for five days with 44 sailors on board.
However, the country’s navy determined that the “noise” was determined to be “biological”, and not the tools being banged against the hull of a submarine.
Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said: “We all had hope, but unfortunately this comes from believing sources that are not trustworthy.
”Some sources were saying that this was banging on the hull in Morse code signals.”
The noise was heard by two Argentine navy ships about 220 miles from the Argentine coast and at a depth of about 650ft.
A US Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft was sent to help in the effort to isolate the source of the sounds.
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The ARA San Juan went missing on Wednesday as it sailed from the extreme southern port of Ushuaia to the coastal city of Mar del Plata.
More than a dozen international vessels and aircraft have joined the search, which has been hindered by stormy weather that has caused waves up to 20ft.
In the first confirmation of a malfunction, an Argentine navy official said earlier Monday that the submarine reported a battery failure on Wednesday and was returning to base when it went missing.
Brief satellite calls over the weekend had originally been thought to indicate the crew was trying to re-establish contact, prompting emotional celebrations by family members and officials.
But Mr Balbi said that officials analysed the seven low-frequency satellite signals and determined they were not received from the submarine.
Although the German-built diesel-electric vessel carried enough food, oxygen and fuel for the crew to survive about 90 days on the sea’s surface, the sub had only have enough oxygen to last seven days submerged, Mr Balbi said.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis, a native of Argentina, said he was sending “fervent prayers” for the crew.
The US Navy ordered its Undersea Rescue Command based in San Diego, California, to deploy to Argentina to support the search for the submarine.
Pledges of help also came from Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil and Britain, the latter sending a polar exploration vessel, HMS Protector.
Some relatives of the missing crew members took to social media on Monday to ask for support during the search.
Jesica Gopar wrote: ”Pray so that my husband, Fernando Santilli can return home.”
Carlos Mendoza, the brother of submarine officer Fernando Ariel Mendoza, added: “We can make up a thousand movies with happy and sad endings, but the reality is that the days pass by and not knowing anything kills you.
”Every minute is oxygen that’s worth gold.”
