The Argentinian Navy revealed that water entered the snorkel of the missing submarine ‘ARA San Juan’, resulting in a battery short-circuit, before it went missing on 15 November.
At the day that the submarine and its 44 crew vanished, they had a maximum oxygen supply of seven days.
The ‘San Juan’ was returning from a routine mission to Ushuaia, when it was ordered back to its Mar del Plata base, after reporting water ingress through its snorkel. The water caused the battery short circuit, navy spokesman Enrique Balbi was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Then, the crew men had to isolate the battery and continue to heading toward Mar del Plata, using another battery, Mr. Balbi explained.
However, after the contact with the submarine was lost, a noise was detected, which was possibly the San Juan’s implosion, according to Navy estimations.
International media suggest that hopes begin to fade for tracking any survivors, although the Argentinian Defence Ministry said earlier this month that it may have received satellite calls from the 44 crew members.
The search for the submarine is still underway, involving coordination with ships and planes from 13 countries, including Brazil, Chile and Great Britain. The effort is concentrated in an area some 430 km (267 miles) off Argentina’s southern coast.
