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ARA San Juan latest: Argentina say detected sound in missing submarine search consistent with explosion | |
(35 minutes later) | |
A sound detected in the search for the missing submarine carrying 44 people is 'consistent with an explosion,' Argentine officials have said. | |
The abnormal sound was detected in the South Atlantic ocean around the time the Argentine navy submarine sent its last communication last week. | |
Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi described the blast as “abnormal, singular, short, violent” and “non-nuclear". The "hydro-acoustic anomaly," as officials are calling it, occurred just hours after the Navy lost contact with its vessel on 15 November. | |
"It was not a whale, and it is not a regularly occurring sound," US Navy Lieutenant Lily Hinz told Reuters. | |
Argentina, Brazil, and the US have sent ships and planes to investigate the noise, which occurred about 30 miles from where the submarine disappeared. | |
A huge sea and air hunt is being conducted for the ARA San Juan. More than a dozen countries sent planes and ships to aid in the search, which has covered some 185,000 square miles. The UK's Ministry of Defence sent a special helicopter equipped with emergency life support pods to search for the German-built sub. | |
Experts say the vessel may only have enough oxygen to last seven to 10 days after its disappearance more than a week ago. Families are waiting anxiously for updates at Argentina's Mar del Plata navy base, where the submarine was headed before it vanished. | |
Mr Balbi said relatives of the crew have been informed of the abnormal noise. He added that the search will continue until there is more certainty as to the vessel's fate. | |
The families' hopes were momentarily raised earlier this week when a US Navy search plane detected an object in the water near where the submarine disappeared. A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Argentina later confirmed the object was not connected to the ARA San Juan. | |
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